The Way It Should Be
by Yogo
Summary: John is a little less than impressed when he is forced into an offworld fishing trip with Rodney, Ronan and Carson...only to find this trip leads them to becoming hostages of a village full of warrior women on the brink of war...complete, please R and R!
1. Fishing Kills

The Way It Should Be

Chapter One – Fishing Kills

He sat idle, staring into the darkness about to consume him. An abyss of nothingness that would take him, finish him, just when he felt that life was getting somewhere. Just when it had become interesting…Damn. He hated that.

A moment of anger surged through him, he could feel his grip on the table tighten, knuckles whitening. He really hated that. Besides, he had been through worse. Hell, he'd died before and he was still here. Facing Wraith armadas and evil alien entities, even friends a little twisted in the head at one point or another. Not there fault of course, what had happened to them had been out of their control, and yes, he may have shot them once - or twice – but they were alive and well and sitting right by him, facing the darkness together, as a team. The way it should be.

But nothing could have prepared him for this. It was too horrible to comprehend. How could he sit here and let it happen, he wasn't completely helpless, was he? No. He would fight it, like he fought everyday against all kinds of chaos and destruction. And he would win, come out of it in one piece and march to those comfy chairs with a huge bucket of popcorn, and watch the play offs that Major Hawthorne had been kind enough to "lend" him. This was the plan, and nothing would dissuade him from it, no doom so terrible and massive would stop him.

'There's no way.' He growled.

'You have no choice.'

'I have a choice.'

Doctor Weir swooped down on him, her hands planted firmly on her hips, studying him with commanding eyes.

'If I have to go, you have to go.'

'Why do you have to go at all? As the leader of Atlantis, you need to stay put. And if you stay put, then I can stay put. So stay put.' John ordered, hoping that his firm tone would make her understand how much he would loathe going.

'Ah, the bravery of John Sheppard in action everybody, how extremely heroic.' Mckay leant back in his chair grinning at John who scowled at him.

'And you're fine with going, Rodney?' Weir raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

'Mh, can't, have far too much lab work to do, all that paperwork and cataloguing…' Rodney waved a hand as though the list went on to infinity, avoiding Elizabeth's eyes.

'If I have to go, he has to go.' John folded his arms, determined.

'What? No! Cataloguing, hours of torturous and – and dull paperwork able to make even the sturdiest brain dribble out of the ears and onto the floor-' Mckay stuttered, alarm making his eyes wide.

'And wouldn't you prefer a nice little fishing trip instead of doing hours of tedious and dull paperwork, cataloguing…' He grinned.

'No. This is work that has to be done-'

'You can give it to someone else, you have at least fifty people working for you, McKay, I'm sure a couple of them have a spare hour or two. Besides, you hardly get out of the lab anyway, it's not healthy.' John nodded in agreement with himself.

'John's right, Rodney, you do need to get out more.' Weir insisted.

'God, you sound like my parents.' He whined, glaring at them both.

'Wonderful, so, two volunteers…' She turned, ignoring Rodney's splutter of disagreement, to face Ronan.

The Satedan immediately stopped grinning at Mckay and straightened up, folding his arms and looking to the floor.

'I have training this afternoon; a bunch of soldiers wanted me to help 'em out.' He muttered, his eyes flicking to Doctor Weir who pinned him with her green eyes.

'I'll reschedule it.' She stated. Ronan looked up at her and caught the smirk from Mckay. 'Good, I'll tell Carson. Be ready in an hour, I would like you to take a few weapons, just as a precaution, but otherwise, you should be appropriately dressed for the occasion.'

'You mean like, massive Wellingtons?' Mckay frowned.

Weir shrugged, 'If you've got them.'

Mckay nodded and stopped, catching the funny looks both John and Ronan were giving him. 'I don't have massive Wellingtons, just the normal sized - look, there could be leeches, and I don't know about you, but I would rather not have a worm-like creature sucking the life out of me.'

'I didn't hear anybody say there were any Wraith on the planet, Rodney, you'll be fine.' John narrowed his eyes, the subtle humour doing wonders for Mckay's pride, as always.

'Funny, you're a funny man, Colonel. How would you like it if hundred of those little suckers latched onto you and started-' Mckay began, anger rising.

'It's fishing, Mckay, nothing bad is going to happen in fishing. Worst case scenario – you come back empty handed and Carson hits the mother load.' John shrugged.

'Oh please, there is no way that Carson is better at fishing than me.' Mckay shook his head at the absurdity of the suggestion.

'How do you know, your always trying to avoid going fishing with him, making up some lame excuse which he buys-'

'I do not make up lame excuses to get out of fishing, okay? Carson and I have a very special connection – as friends – and I would do anything for him, it's just that every time he asks me to go something comes up…'

'Paperwork and cataloguing?' John repeated incredulously.

'Yes.' Mckay squeaked indignantly.

'Alright.' Weir stepped up. 'Go, get ready, Carson will be disappointed with you if you're late.' Her eyes twinkled.

John rose, a hard smile on his face. 'Funny.' He whispered to her.

'Hold on a second!' Rodney didn't move. 'I didn't hear you mention Teyla in all of this.'

Teyla gave a fake look of surprise and then smiled at Elizabeth from the corner of her eye.

'Oh, I see, they're in cahoots, trying to make us look bad. That's okay; I once caught a salmon the size of a naquadah generator with my bare hands.' Rodney stood, showing them the size with his hands. He smiled widely with his usual arrogance. John shook his head.

'That big, huh?' He jested. 'How come Teyla doesn't have to go?'

'I have trade negations with my people this afternoon, the outcome is vital to Atlantis.' She insisted.

'Huh. So you'll need a pilot to fly you over there-'

'And a scientist to tell you what's useful and what's not-' Mckay jumped in.

'And a hand to move things.' Ronan added hopefully.

The three men stood, edging toward Teyla hopefully.

'Gentlemen you are going fishing with Carson and that is final. You need the rest.' She said softly.

'Fine, we'll go.' John groaned, Ronan and Rodney casting him a resentful look. 'We as in all of us, you included, right?' John's eyebrow inched to the top of his head.

Elizabeth turned to her desk and retrieved some paperwork.

'Well, actually, I only had to go if I couldn't find someone to take my place, and I found three.' She smiled at them as she and Teyla left the room. Teyla lingered a moment, resting a hand on John's arm.

'Have a nice time – fishing. I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience.' She grinned, giving a soft laugh and turning to leave.

'Oh you laugh now missy, but you wait till we bring back a bucket load of fresh fish just waiting to be marinated in teriyaki and barbequed – and of course, as the fishers, we get _all_ the good grub.' John nodded at her.

Teyla nodded. 'Yes well, I hope you enjoy your barbequed fish. My brethren on the Mainland insist that I enjoy their bountiful harvest feast and fine wine.' Teyla smiled all the way to the end of the hall, leaving her team mates gaping.

'Fine wine.' John echoed.

'Bountiful feast.' Mckay croaked.

'And barbequed fish.' Ronan growled as he pushed past them. 'Let's go, since we're going.'

Mckay drooped. 'This is all your fault.'

'How is it my fault, Rodney? It's not like I can say no to the leader of the expedition when she gives a direct order.' John said defensively.

'You said that we'd go, you took our voices and meshed it into yours, stealing our freedom to choose what we would like to do with our afternoon off.' Mckay snarled.

'And what were you going to do that was better than fishing?' John asked, squinting at him.

'Lots of things, important things which needed attention, lots of attention.' He said slowly.

'You were going to sleep the entire afternoon away, wake up at one in the morning and work 'till nine when everyone else gets in, and then you would be cranky and mean because you were so tired.' John corrected.

Ronan grinned.

'I've been working a lot lately, I need to sleep, do you see how pale I am, the bags under my eyes? All in the effort to better your life!' Mckay pointed a finger at him while John patted him on the back.

'The fresh air'll do you good.' John walked on and spotted Zalenka walking down the corridor. 'Hey Radik, don't suppose you'd like to-'

'Sorry, can't, I have much paperwork and cata-'

'-cataloguing to do, right.' John nodded with a sense of frustration. The scientist smiled and shrugged.

'You'll have a good time, I'm sure. The planet is very beautiful with rich vegetation and picturesque views of the mountain range in the distance.' He informed, hoping to make them feel better.

'And apparently some really good fish.' John added. Zalenka nodded enthusiastically.

'Yes, very good, initial test results were able to show the specimen contained an unusual protein which is in fact very good for the body. Doctor Weir believes a change in the food would do the base a world of good, and I agree.' Zalenka nodded slightly.

'Yeah, something tells me that there's only so much of Chef's meat surprise the human body can take.' John grinned.

'Meat surprise? I love that stuff, is Chef serving it today? I wish he wouldn't change lunch at the last minute, I was prepping myself for that god awful curry chicken he advertised yesterday.' Mckay, who had of course, not been listening, stared at the two with sudden interest.

Ronan shook his head slightly, casting John a weary and yet slightly amused look.

'Rodney, why don't you grab those Wellingtons and meet us in the gate room in ten?' Sheppard said lightly. Mckay was momentarily confused before nodding and walking toward his office. He paused and walked back a few steps.

'So, we're not staying for lunch?' He asked. John raised an eyebrow. 'Right.' Mckay continued walking.

Twenty minutes later, John and Ronan were sat on the Gate room steps whilst Carson paced in front of them. Carson huffed stroppily and yanked his sleeve back to look at his watch.

'Where in the bloody hell is he?' He folded his arms and looked expectantly at the two men on the floor.

Ronan and John had dressed in their usual gear making no changes to accommodate fishing; they had also decided to disregard Elizabeth's suggestion of going light where weapons were concerned. Both were in full gear. Carson however was wearing a pale green T-shirt with a green sleeveless jacket and green baggy trousers with pockets down the sides. He wore a green hat with different hooks pinned to the front, different coloured feathers hanging from each of them. He tapped his foot on the ground.

'If he thinks he's going to get out of this by being late, he's got another thing coming.' Carson looked at his watch again, and growled. 'The sun on that planet went up half an hour ago, we're wasting precious time!'

'Don't sweat it Doc, he'll be here. Soon.' John insisted, fiddling with a vest pocket.

Carson raised an eyebrow, doubtful.

Elizabeth jogged down the stairs and faced them, losing patience herself.

'Did he radio any of you to say that he would be late?' They all shook their heads. She tapped her headset. 'Rodney, where-?'

'Here!' A voice gasped. 'I'm here.'

They turned to see Mckay struggling through the door with three bags, two of which were huge. But the bags weren't what made them stare. He was wearing bright blue Wellington boots which stopped at his knees and forced the green trousers to poof out giving him thighs the size of tree trunks. He wore a polo neck jumper under a zip up jacket, done up all the way to his neck, underneath a sleeveless jacket much like Carson's. His hat was white with some sort of netting attached to cover his face and neck; it fell to his shoulders and hugged them as though he had tugged it down as far as it would go. One of the bags fell to the floor, his grip not as strong with the black pair of gloves he wore.

The four spent the next minute or so doing the best they possibly could not to laugh, covering their mouths and passing each other looks of hysterics. Rodney cocked his head.

'What?' He asked, dropping the other bag on the floor and putting his hands on his hips. The sound of all the tight material squeezing to change position with him was the final straw – all of them burst out laughing. Elizabeth was the only one trying desperately not to laugh, but she turned to see the tears in Carson's eyes as he howled and she couldn't help herself. Ronan was propping himself up on his knees, one hand coming to ease the pain in his chest from laughing so hard. John who had been sitting on the stairs was now lying on them, a hand on his stomach and the other on his eyes trying desperately to breathe.

Mckay nodded looking very unimpressed. 'Yeah, uhuh, that's nice.' He walked forward, the material straining. Carson thrust a hand out at him.

'No! No closer!' He rasped in between fits of laughter.

'Okay, that's great, I look a little unusual – but I will be the one who returns minus the sunburn, leeches and insect bites.' He said proudly. The laughing continued and the smile fell from his face. 'Seriously! Are you twelve?'

Elizabeth managed to dial the laughter to a chuckle and cleared her throat, wiping her eyes. 'Rodney, it is almost thirty degrees on that planet.' She stated.

Rodney stood his ground. 'I'll keep to the shade.'

'Mckay, what is with the hat? We're not collecting honey.' Sheppard asked.

'Water equals mosquitoes, a mosquito equals bites which swell and itch.' He insisted.

Ronan stood. 'What's in the bags?'

'Mosquito repellent, various sun blocks, water, camera, lunch, a few fishing items…' He trailed off, glancing at the bags and than at his team mates with a look of defiance.

'It's nice that you've taken a real interest Rodney, but there is such a thing as being a little too careful.' Carson raised an eyebrow.

'Another galaxy, life-sucking aliens, leeches – there is no such thing as being too careful, Mr Hulk.' He smiled at his wise words.

Carson's smile fell. 'Green allows the fisher to blend into the surroundings so as not to spook the fish, Rodney.' He adjusted his hat. 'And there's no way you can pick on the flaws of my outfit when you look as ridiculous as that.'

Rodney was about to fly into a rage when Sheppard stepped forward, pointing at the bags on the floor.

'Mckay, there's no way you will keep up dragging what looks like your whole lab along.' John informed him, looking over the bags again.

'Of course not, I thought my buddy Ronan could give me a hand, seeing as he is twice the size I am – muscle and all…which I have, but I'm more in the brains department, so…' Rodney grinned, oblivious to the dark look Ronan gave him.

'No bags.' John stated, Rodney was about to argue. 'And lose the hat.' He walked past Mckay and signalled for Zalenka to dial the gate, he frowned when he saw that Zalenka was not there. A moment later, the scientist surfaced from below the control interface, removing his glasses to wipe away the tears. John smiled slightly. He could see a number of the scientists enjoying themselves at the sight of Mckay. 'Zalenka!' He called.

The scientist paused momentarily. 'Right, of course, my apologies.' He then burst out into a new bout of laughter. 'Beginning the dialling sequence!'

Mckay snatched the hat from his head, glaring at the Czech with ruffled hair.

'I'd get rid of the gloves and at least one of the coats too Rodney, you can't fish in those.' Carson lifted his fishing gear from the floor.

Rodney almost looked happy at this thought when Elizabeth stepped in front of him, eyes narrowed. 'And fish you will.' She whispered.

Rodney glared at her, quickly pulling his gloves off.

Elizabeth jogged up the stairs, seeing that Zalenka had basically gained control of himself again. The Gate activated.

Rodney had taken his zip up coat off and threw one of the larger bags over his shoulder, stumbling to the side before regaining his balance.

He threw a dignified look to the people above in the control room and stormed through the Gate. Ronan and Carson followed. John gave Elizabeth a quick salute, indicating his pleasure at being chosen for this mission. She nodded, smiling.

The Gate shut down. Zalenka looked up at Weir and burst into laughter once more.

Mckay had taken off on the other side of the Gate, leaving his friends behind. Carson sighed and yelled. 'It's to the left Rodney!'

Mckay, who had been veering to the right, paused and began marching to the left.

'He'll be fine.' John stated, slipping sunglasses on his face and surveying the landscape. 'How far is the river from here?'

'Decent twenty minutes. Rodney'll wish he hadn't brought that bag, I'm sure of it.' He smiled.

Ronan fell in behind them. 'No human activity.' He stated.

'Aye, the team that explored this place seems to think it's uninhabited – there's certainly nothing to indicate otherwise. Elizabeth's even considering making this lovely planet our new Alpha site.' Carson informed.

'Why not? Green fields, mountains, weird fish – sounds like a nice place to stay.' John studied the tree line across the open grassy bank, his military training teaching him to always watch.

'And apparently, there's a beach not far from the Gate where the waves are of surfing potential. Sergeant Harris was very excited.' Carson grinned. John looked at him suddenly.

'Maybe we should check it out on the way back, just to see if it's safe – I mean what's the point of setting up an Alpha site on a planet with whimpy waves, ah?' John smiled slightly, trying to hide his enthusiasm.

Ronan noted the look on his face, and having seen it before knew that John was excited about something. 'Surfing?'

John eyeballed him before remembering that Ronan was not from Earth, he dropped back with his big friend and let his MP5 hang round his neck. 'Surfing is where you take a board and you swim out into the ocean a little way before catching an awesome wave, and riding it.'

'You ride the waves?' Ronan said sceptically.

'When we set up here – if we set up here – I will teach you how to surf, it'll be great. I'll teach Teyla too, we'll make a day of it. Sun, sea, sand - beer – and surfing.' He said perkily. 'What do think Carson?'

'Sounds wonderful, apart from the surfing.' Carson smiled slightly. 'I'm more of a sunbathing man.'

John smiled, shaking his head.

'I also didn't bring a bathing suit, and considering the whole city is surrounded by water, it might not be a bad idea to get one.' Carson added, slipping his own sunglasses on his head.

Ronan frowned again. 'Bathing suit?'

'Yeah, looks like we need to take you shopping buddy.' John nodded.

'And Teyla.' Carson added. They both paused. Ronan looked between them.

'Nothing.' John cast Carson a half smile, eyes twinkling mischievously. Carson returned the smile, his blue eyes blushing. 'So, is there anything major we need to know about the wonderful world of fishing?'

'Not really, the bait goes on the hook, the hook goes in the water, and then you wait for a little scaly rascal to get hungry.' Carson walked ahead with John while Ronan tried to figure out the previous awkward moment.

'Can you please hurry up? The Sun is scorching my skin and I can't stop to put my sun block on until we get to the trees because it is underneath everything else, and if I do it here, then I will be in the sun even longer.' Rodney complained, waiting for them to catch up, clearly out of breath from lugging the large bag half way across the field.

'Why didn't you put some on before we came?' John narrowed his eyes at him.

'I thought my hat would have taken care of it, but I was told to leave it, and now I am likely to die from extreme sun exposure.' He explained snippily.

Carson shook his head as they walked past him.

'What?' They continued walking. 'Hey! Wait! Ronan, buddy, ol' pal, would you mind giving me a hand with…hey! Wait up!' Rodney heaved the bag from the ground and shuffled forward. He continued on like this until he reached the tree line. 'Stop!' He bellowed.

'We're almost there Rodney!' Carson exclaimed, turning to the scientist.

'That's fabulous, but I need to look for my sun block.' He began digging around his bag. 'Have any of you heard of unsightly lesions? Skin cancer? Does any of it ring bells?'

John looked at Ronan and knew he would be a few minutes looking for the sun block. Carson sat on a tree stump while John leaned against a tree.

'Oh perfect!' Rodney snapped.

John raised his weapon slightly. 'What?'

'The sun block has covered the entire bottom of my bag – including my lunch, I can't eat that-' He threw the creamy covered wrapper of a sandwich to the floor.

'Don't you dare leave that there! We've just arrived on the planet Rodney; let's leave it a few years before we start to destroy it.' Carson nagged.

'I was going to pick it up! Just give me a minute, Boy scout.' Rodney snarled delving back into his bag.

Ronan moved away from the tree. 'What was the point in bringing so much?' He nodded to the bag.

'Because I am careful, I don't enjoy pain like you do-'

Rodney stopped when Ronan yelled in agony and fell to the ground, grasping at his leg. A shower of arrows flew through the forest as Carson pushed Ronan's torso to the ground while John bounded to the other side of the tree, weapon raised. He couldn't see anyone. The forest wasn't dark, and there weren't many places for them to really hide – so who in the hell was shooting at them?

'Ronan?' John bellowed.

'He's got an arrow in his calf!' Carson yelled back.

More arrows filled the air. 'Take cover!' John shouted again. He retreated behind the tree and saw Mckay cowering behind his bag. Apparently it had been good for one thing.

'Hold your fire! We're not here to cause any trouble!' He yelled to the trees. The arrows continued. 'Ronan, can you move?'

He heard a grunt of pain and a snap. Ronan had broken the arrow in half. 'Yeah.' He growled.

'We can't make a run for the Gate! He won't make it, not with this injury!' Carson said, inspecting the leg.

'If we run into the field, their arrows will be far more accurate! As in deadly accurate! I would rather not be skewered with hundreds of wooden shafts, thank you very much!' Rodney shouted.

He was right, and John knew it. In the open, there would be no where to take cover and these people were obviously in range, so outrunning them was not going to happen, especially with Ronan's leg. But then surrendering to an enemy who apparently didn't want prisoners was also a bad idea. John rolled his eyes. So much for fishing.

'Carson! You and Rodney get Ronan to the Gate; I'll lay down cover fire and follow!' He yelled to them.

'Are you insane!?' Rodney rose from his position momentarily and arrows flew at him. He shrieked, ducking once more.

'Don't argue with me, Rodney!' John shouted.

'Colonel, how do you think you're going to escape even if we do get far enough away?' Carson asked.

'He can't.' Ronan gritted his teeth. The arrow had gone clean through the muscle of his calf, there was little blood, but it hurt like hell.

'I'll run real fast, now go!' He shouted.

'That's not exactly a plan-' Mckay began.

'Go!' John leapt out from behind the tree and began shooting blindly; hoping the noise more than anything would scare them off. Rodney leapt up and grabbed Ronan's arm while Carson grabbed the other. They took off as fast as Ronan could go, which was pretty fast considering the extent of his injury.

John dodged behind the tree to avoid another wave of arrows, they punctured the ground and trees around him, mud and bark flying into his face. He paused a moment before coming out again and firing more shots to where he thought the enemy were. Another minute or so and he would take off after the others. He reloaded the weapon and waited for the next shower. He waited. Waited some more. He frowned. No arrows.

He edged out to look at the trees in front. There was still nothing – no people, no arrows. Just silence. Were they waiting for him to rise? To run? He ducked behind the tree again. If he ran, they would fire, but if he just sat there – well, he would be sitting there, and he didn't like that plan. John looked around the side of the tree and didn't have time to react to the object that slammed into his forehead, making the world fall black.

_More soon! Please review! If you prefer something with more action and quite a bit of Sheyla, than check out my other story 'Trials of Faith.' Any and all comments are appreciated!_


	2. Carson's Theory

Chapter 2 - Carson's Theory

Agony was the first thing he knew, the thumping pain in his head informing him that he was still alive. Dancing lights invaded his mind, making him squint even though his eyes were already closed. His hand reached blindly for his forehead, brushing the throbbing surface, he could feel a sticky substance starting to dry and knew that as bad as the wound felt, it had apparently stopped bleeding. Sheppard groaned and his hand found the ground.

'Easy lad, you've taken a nasty blow to the head. I wouldn't go aggravating it, not here.' The darkness said, the familiar Scottish lilt making John look up far too quickly. His head objected strongly to the movement and he felt a wave of nausea. Two hands steadied his shoulders. He had been lying on his front on the sandy ground; he could feel the dirt on his face. Clearly he was not back in Atlantis with clean white sheets and attractive female nurses.

'Carson.' He rasped, sitting with his back against something wooden.

'Aye, Rodney's here too. They took Ronan a while ago.' He informed.

John peeled the one eye open and found very little pain. The room they had been put in was dark, so there was no bright light to kill the precious brain cells he was barely functioning on.

'Who's they?' He paused. 'And where's here?'

His eyes adjusted to the dark and he saw the form of Carson kneeling in front of him. The room was made with long wooden planks with small cracks of light filtering through, allowing enough light to see, but not enough to cause him to cringe in discomfort – much like the first and only time he had watched 'Cats.'

'We're still on the planet, I'm afraid, and it appears that these…people, aren't looking to let us go any time soon.' Carson spoke softly, for which John was thankful, but the information he gave meant little.

'These people being?' He prodded, feeling for his MP5 and P90, which were both gone, naturally. His vest had been taken as well as the knife he kept strapped to his ankle. Carson didn't answer. 'Carson?'

'Well, they're all-'

'-Barbara Streisand.' A voice moaned.

John opened both eyes and craned his head down to the source of the voice. The crumpled form of Rodney began to stir on the floor. John looked at Carson.

'I take it he got a nasty bang on the head too?'

'Not really, one of them gave him a quick punch and he's been in and out of consciousness. He'll have a nasty bruise, but no stitches, unlike you.' Carson touched the cut on John's head. He winced.

'That bad?' He asked.

'You look terrible.' Rodney stated, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. 'And this floor is not only dirty, it is uncomfortable.'

'Gee, thanks Rodney.' John tried to stand, but with little effect.

'No! Don't even think about it! Not with your injury, Colonel.' Carson's hands were set firmly on his shoulders.

John had to silently agree. He felt crappy and apparently looked it.

'Will someone please tell me why we were attacked by a bunch of…Barbara's?' John said grumpily, looking expectantly at his two team mates.

'The woman I saw, I think I saw, I'm not sure – she looked a hell of a lot like Barbara Streisand.' Rodney said, looking at the Colonel with a serious expression, as though this description would actually help.

'As in 'Hello, Dolly?' John queried.

'More like 'Meet the Fockers.' Rodney corrected.

'Rough.' John commented, and then caught the exasperated look on Carson's face. 'Not the point, Rodney. Who's keeping us in here?'

'Well, these people are, they are a formidable race of…' Rodney trailed off, the last word more of a mumble.

John frowned. 'Mckay.'

'Women, Colonel, we're being held in a large village full of Warrior Women.' Carson sighed.

John's eyes rose to the top of his head, he almost couldn't feel the pain through the surprise.

'As in…' He began.

'Village full of Xena's.' Rodney grinned. 'Leather, long hair, muscles – only these ladies don't want to talk all that much, death and chaos seem to be their thing, so you all should have something to talk about.' He narrowed his eyes at the Colonel who gave him an eyebrow before moving on.

'Where's Ronan?' Sheppard asked quickly, just realising that he had missed the tall Satedan.

'They took him about, what, three hours ago?' Rodney looked to Carson.

'Aye, seems about right. We made it to the Gate and started dialling, but they caught up with us and knocked Rodney out. Ronan did the best he could, but he was overpowered quite easily, what with his leg being a complete and utter shambles.' Carson paused. 'I would have helped but, well…'

'What?' John asked, surprised that the Doc hadn't been slightly more aggressive toward the people that had given him a migraine and Ronan a hole in his leg.

Rodney rolled his eyes. 'He didn't help because he was playing the gentlemen; apparently he felt bad trying to hurt the women who were viciously attacking us.' Rodney glared at Carson.

'Well, they're ladies! My mother always taught me never to take a hand to a lady.' He faced the Colonel with a look of utter sincerity in his eyes.

'These "Ladies" are savages, Carson, and they weren't exactly hesitating when they shot Ronan, hit Sheppard or practically beat me to death.' Rodney complained, finding the man to be beyond unbelievable.

'You got a slap, Rodney; you weren't in any bloody bar fight!' Carson argued, staring the scientist down with his blue eyes.

'No, I had to face an entire regiment of armed and angry females on my own while you tried to offer them flowers and compliments.' Rodney snapped.

'Alright! Not helping!' Sheppard half yelled, knowing that his head could only take so much of their constant bickering. 'Did they say anything when they took Ronan? Or did they do anything unusual?'

'Unusual? Like what?' Rodney asked.

'I don't know Rodney, anything that didn't seem like the usual.' John sat up a little further with the intent of forming a plan.

'And being captured and held hostage by a bunch of Amazons is the usual?' Rodney griped.

'Mckay.' John warned. 'Just answer the damn question.'

'No, nothing unusual. They dropped us off, picked him up, and we haven't heard anything since.' Rodney folded his arms.

'Thank you.' John fake smiled at him, shaking his head slightly.

'Although…' Carson began.

'Although what? You can't just start a sentence and not finish it, not when my stress levels are this close to boiling point.' Mckay prodded.

'Well, I was conscious on the way here – they put a mask over my head all the way to the village but took it off when we arrived.' He started. 'Their society is quite advanced in agriculture and weaponry, but the one thing that seemed to be missing…' He rose his eyebrows.

'Okay - with the not finishing of sentences?' Rodney slapped his head into his hand.

'-Men.' Carson snapped. 'The village is completely devoid of all men.'

John rose his eyebrows and Rodney spluttered.

'That's impossible. How would they reproduce?' He challenged.

Carson shrugged, but he had an odd expression on his face that made Sheppard wonder.

'You don't think that they took Ronan to…' He made a gesture with his hands.

'He was injured, so he wouldn't put up much of a fight.' Carson reasoned.

'Both Sheppard and I are injured.' Rodney pointed out.

'But Ronan was the only injured person conscious.' Carson insisted. 'It's entirely possible that they pick up male travellers purely for the purpose of copulation.'

'How so?' Rodney said incredulously.

'There are cultures on Earth which do the same thing, there need be absolutely no emotional connection, they just need the male to breed.' Carson informed, John's eyebrows inching higher.

'In some animal cultures, I'm sure. They did not take Ronan to…that wasn't why he was taken.' Rodney paused. 'Although, I do think it's best if you and I pretend to be unconscious when they come back.' He suggested to Sheppard.

Sheppard nodded slightly, his mind thinking over the possibilities – some were pleasant, some were not.

'Besides, it's not like you were gonna put up much of a fight with your gentleman mentality, you would have been their first choice. Unless they were basing that choice on looks.' Rodney folded his arms and received a nasty glare from Carson.

'And just what is that supposed to mean?' He seethed.

Rodney rolled his eyes. 'I'm not saying that you're not a fine example of the male sex, Carson, I'm just saying that Ronan is…taller.'

'I'm tall.' John snapped.

'And I'm not exactly short, Rodney, unlike some scientists.' Carson ground his teeth and folded his arms, leaning away from John. Rodney did a double take.

'I am not short – look, that is not the point – and even if it were, we're all midgets compared to Ronan.' He snarled. Carson and John nodded reluctantly. 'I only meant that they might prefer Ronan because of his unkempt appearance.'

'Unkempt appearance?' John echoed incredulously.

'He's not exactly winning clean man award of the year is he?' Rodney growled.

'Ronan has character, Rodney.' Carson narrowed his eyes at the scientist. The man was insufferable at times.

'You mean the odour gives him character.' Rodney mumbled, then seeing the looks on his comrade's faces he rose his hands defensively. 'Fine. Ronan smells like a bed of roses and they chose him for his wonderfully prim appearance.'

Carson and John glanced at each other with weary eyes and started to look elsewhere. Rodney, however, was not finished.

'So, you really don't think he was chosen because he looks like these people?' Rodney rushed. Carson and John turned their heads quickly giving him the evils.

'What? Savages?' Carson asked angrily, Rodney's earlier description of the women still fresh in his mind.

'Let's all remember that I wasn't the one to say it.' He smiled tightly. Carson was about to fly into a rage when Rodney interrupted. 'And why are we fussing over the reasons for being taken? Are you that desperate? I mean, it may have been a while for me and Carson, but for you Colonel, it's not like you've been lonely over the past year…'

Sheppard was momentarily stunned by the remark, Carson blinked and then spoke.

'How in the hell do you know the last time that I – you can't assume things like that Rodney, for one it's none of your business and for two – you're absolutely wrong.' Carson informed him.

'Oh please, you haven't been close to any of the females in Atlantis-' Rodney sighed.

'Just because you've been having a dry spell for the last decade doesn't mean that I have-'

'The last decade?!' Rodney yelled indignantly.

'I may have been somewhat lucky, Mckay, but you make it sound like I'm some sort of…man whore or something!' John snapped.

'Well you don't exactly hold back.' Rodney retorted.

'At least he has the option whether or not to hold back while you're left with nothing but snide remarks.' Carson added.

'You're all impossibly difficult! This isn't helping the situation!' Rodney yelled. 'We can argue over who gets what when we are safely back on Atlantis and actually capable of getting any.'

'From the way Carson makes these people sound, it seems that "getting any" is a real possibility right now.' John said seriously.

'Let's not speculate over it anymore, it is entirely possible that I'm wrong-' Carson began.

'Wrong? You? No! How ever could that be!' Rodney said dramatically, thrusting his hands into the air. 'The world is going to spin off its axis and collide into the sun because Lord Carson has admitted how very wrong he is-!'

'This is wonderful.'

The men turned to the doorway where a curvy silhouette towered over them.

'From the sound of it, you are all very much awake.'

John couldn't see her face, the darkness in contrast with the light only made his head hurt. He could see however, just how womanly she was – and apparently tall. But he was sitting on the ground, so he really had no idea of her height at all, or if he could take her in his current condition. Head injury, Ronan missing and they were in the middle of a village full of these women – probably not the best idea to make a rash escape. Once upon a time this had been something of a dirty dream, right now with blood seeping from his head, his ass going numb on the filthy floor and his concern for Ronan growing, he just wanted to get his team back home safely…and then maybe he would come back to enjoy the lovely sights.

'Where's Ronan?' John growled.

The woman turned to him – at least he thought she did. He was seeing double – the lines were blurring. She had better hurry up and speak her piece before he blacked out, he hated waking up confused. And he certainly didn't want to wake up in the middle of Carson's theory…

'Your male companion is healing, Sheppard. He has been very informative of your operation.' She said lightly.

'I doubt that.' He replied. Okay, so she knew his name, but Ronan wouldn't give away anything of vital importance, no matter what sort of pain he was in.

The woman shifted her weight to fold her arms. 'He is quite the specimen.' She stated. Carson raised his eyebrows at Rodney who squinted at him. 'Dex has been helpful to a point, after that point we could extract nothing further.'

'Dex?' John echoed. 'What is it with the last name's? First name's too personal?'

'Yes.' She answered immediately.

'Oh.' As awkwardness went, this was pretty damn awkward.

'For us to use your first names, we must deem that you are friends, and not those who would cause us harm.' She advanced menacingly into the room. 'Are you here to cause us harm, Sheppard?'

'No, we're here on a peaceful exploration. It's what we do, we travel to other planets to meet new people – this whole thing has been a misunderstanding.' Carson insisted, using his friendly Doctor voice.

'Mh, we're not here to cause harm, unless you count the fish – which I wouldn't, unless you hold them in high regard, that is.' Rodney rushed, smiling weakly.

John narrowed his eyes at Mckay, willing for him to just stay quiet. The woman said nothing, but merely watched them.

'Carson's right, we're explorers. We look for friends in trade and allies against the Wraith.' The woman did not seem phased by the mention of the Wraith. John didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 'We came here without realising that this planet was inhabited, if that's a big thing for you, then we'll leave.'

'Yes, we'll go – guns, hooks, sun cream and all.' Rodney faked a perky grin, obviously trying to lighten the tension. The woman said nothing for a few moments.

'We too seek allies against our foe, but the Wraith are of no concern to us. I cannot allow you to leave until I am sure that there is nothing truly valuable that you can offer us.' She turned to leave.

'Well, you just heard that we both had enemies. We have fighting experience and good weapons, how is that not valuable?' Mckay half squeaked.

'Mckay.' John warned.

'What?' He snapped.

'Let's not go offering our help in a fight we know squat about.' He whispered.

'It's better than sitting here waiting for god knows what to happen. If they get hungry, we're toast, if they get angry, we're sacrificed, and if they get horny, we're screwed, so how about you come up with a better plan to get us out of here!' Mckay snarled under his breath, his brown eyes wide with anxiety.

'I assure you that if we are hungry, we eat only what the forest provides, and if we are angry, you would simply be killed and not sacrificed. As for the urges that need be contented, I am certain Dex could satisfy the lust of an entire village. Fear not. You will not be touched.' She said firmly.

'Why not?' He snapped. The woman paused.

'You wish to be given to my sisters?' She asked.

'No, it's just the way you said it. I am a fine catch, I'll have you know. I'm smart, funny-'

John snorted and Mckay threw him a death glare.

'-I am lots of great things that Ronan is not. For one, I bathe.' He insisted.

'You're not back to that, are you?' Carson moaned.

'I meant no offence, boy, but if at any time you feel lonely, please call upon the guard and she will arrange a meeting for some of my more deprived sisters.' The woman was about to take her leave before Rodney could complain about being called a 'boy' when Sheppard stood shakily.

'Hold on.' He put a hand on the wall to guide him. 'I want to see Ronan.'

'He is resting. The arrow caused him much pain, but he will heal in due time.' She informed him. Now that he was standing, he could see that she was tall, very tall, maybe creeping up to Ronan's height. His eyes adjusted to the dark and the contours of her face became visible. Her nose seemed normal, so she wasn't the woman Rodney had spoken of.

'Thanks for the welcoming committee by the way, I take it that it's a usual thing to shoot first and ask questions later?' John narrowed his eyes at her, an anger boiling under the surface keeping away the darkness that threatened to make him sleep.

The woman continued walking from the room. 'Your injuries will be seen to presently.' The door slammed shut behind her, casting the group in black.

'Wonderful!' Mckay yelled at the door. 'So very helpful!'

'Calm down, Mckay.' John complained. He was up, he felt ill, but sitting wouldn't get him any closer to a morphine drip.

"Calm down" is not an option, Colonel. This is very bad, and it is obviously going to get worse.' Mckay started to pace. "Your injuries will be seen to presently"? I mean, how ominous does that sound?'

'It sounds like they dealt with the person who had the worst injury first, and now they'll deal with the rest of us.' Carson stayed sitting, positioning his back on the wall as Sheppard had done. Rodney's whining made him feel tired, he swept a hand through his ruffled hair.

'That is the best case scenario, Carson, you and I both know that it is going to get much worse.' Rodney snapped at him.

'How do you know if it's going to get worse?' Carson asked, expecting the answer to be a load of horse manure.

'Because it always gets worse, whatever situation we get into, it always gets worse. There's an evil infiltrator, the Wraith show up, there's a bomb-'

'I know of women in labour who complain less than you, Rodney. We're going to be fine. You're still here aren't you? Sadly.' Carson barked, watching as Sheppard very carefully made his way to the other end of the small room and started peeking through the slits in the planks. It had to be a concussion; he didn't look well at all. What he really wanted to do was get him and Ronan back to Atlantis and make sure that they were alright; there was nothing he could do for them in these conditions. He had a small medical kit with some basic supplies, but that had been taken with the rest of the equipment. Carson turned back to a sour faced Mckay who had started his pacing again. Rodney paused when he saw what Sheppard was doing and rushed over, picking a hole of his own to peek through.

'Anything?' He asked, desperately trying to get his eyeball through the hole as though it were attempting to escape his skull. His eagerness to see what was happening outside resulted in his nose becoming lodged in between two of the planks. 'Ow! Oh, dat is jus nod handy – hey, a liddle help over here, please?' He heard Sheppard sigh and felt two strong hands grab his shoulders and yank him back. Mckay yelped in pain as his nose scraped free of the planks. 'Ow! God…would a gentle touch kill you, I could have splinters in here now.' He touched his nose tenderly.

'Rodney, sit down before you hurt yourself – or someone else.' Carson ordered, giving him an incredulous look. Rodney sat next to him still nursing his nose.

'It's a pretty big place. A lot of weapons – and a lot of women.' Sheppard reported.

'You will be able to restrain yourself, won't you?' Rodney asked cruelly.

Sheppard ignored him. 'These ladies like their spears; it looks like everyone carries them. A few kids – all female. It looks like there's a large house in the centre, like some sort of meeting hall or something.' John paused. 'I think Ronan's being kept in a building across the compound.'

'How do you know that?' Rodney looked up from nursing his nose.

'Because a woman just walked out of it with all of his clothes.' John glanced back.

Carson and Rodney exchanged looks of solemn disbelief before Carson smiled slightly.

'We need to get out of here.' John went to the front of the building and looked through another hole.

'The idea of female companionship frightening you Colonel?' Rodney teased. 'Unusual given your past history.'

John squatted in front of the Doctor, ignoring McKay with an ease given to him by almost two years of practice.

'Carson, how long did it take for us to get here once they brought us past the tree line?' Sheppard asked.

'Decent fifteen minutes, why?' Carson frowned, not liking the sound of this at all.

'And you were walking in a straight line?' The Colonel prodded.

'More or less. It's very confusing when they blind fold you, I could have been going in the opposite direction and I wouldn't have known.' Carson studied the Colonel's troubled face as he listened. 'What exactly are you thinking?'

'I'm thinking of getting out of here.' He rose and crossed over to the back of the room, peering through the planks.

'Is that wise?' Carson stood also, the idea of a plan, however unsettling, did instil a sense of motivation. 'They've treated us very well so far, but if we try to escape I expect that treatment will change somewhat.'

'_Treated us well?_ Carson, they shot Ronan, knocked me and the Colonel unconscious and are now holding us captive in a small dirty room – they haven't even fed us! I'm starving! All I had for Breakfast was a measly little pastry and some coffee, and that was hours ago, this is verging on the point of starvation!' Rodney did not rise from the floor but looked up at the two men with an air of desperation.

'We only left Atlantis five hours ago Rodney; it's not like your wasting away.' Carson informed him, turning back to the Colonel.

'Hey, I'll have you know this is stress-gained weight, it's not like Atlantis is fraught with easy, laid back days.' Rodney squeaked defensively, a hand straying to the small bump on his stomach.

'I think I can break these.' John informed them, trying to snap some of the planks. 'If we can get to Ronan and go from there.' He moaned, trying to pry the plank off of another. It was proving difficult. 'Feel free to help out guys.'

'Colonel-' Carson began.

'Look, we can't stay because we have no idea what is going on, and Elizabeth won't check in with us for another six hours. From what I can see, the village is a big circle, and this room is on the edge of it. There's forest behind here. We can circle around and get to Ronan, sneak him out, and make our way back to the Gate.' John continued to kick at the planks.

'Brilliant plan, except for the fact that they are sending people 'presently' to come and "help" us.' Rodney reminded in his usual flippant tone.

'Which is one of the reasons we should get out of here now, McKay.' Sheppard insisted. 'Who knows what they've got planned.'

'That's just the thing Colonel; we have no clue what they'll do.' Carson glanced at the door. 'They seem like honest people to me, they follow some sort of an honourable code.'

'A code where they shoot people they don't know and then ask them who they are.' Sheppard said firmly. 'I'm not asking you to hit any of them, Doc, just to sneak past them. Which requires actual silence.' He glared at Mckay.

'What?' Rodney frowned, having not been listening.

'And how do we find our way back to the Gate, exactly?' Carson asked, his hand planted on his hips.

'We use deduction, and smarts, of which we have a surplus amount.' John glanced at them and saw that neither of them were convinced. 'You remember where we entered the village, right?'

Carson nodded.

'Okay. We start from there and go in a straight line, that field was pretty damn huge, we should run into it eventually – and if we don't, Elizabeth will send a UAV to locate our position and send a team to bring us home. Any questions?' He asked, the peeved side of his nature setting into his face.

'Yes, how-' Mckay began.

'Good. Now shut up, stay low and follow me.' He turned back to the plank of wood. He noticed that they had been tied at the tops with some sort of rope like a twisted vine. There was no hope of untying it. He reached for his belt and slid it off, adjusting the buckle for him to pry at the fibres of the rope to loosen the board.

'You know, if they come in here and see you beltless, they'll interpret that as a sign-' McKay began, worried that whatever they would do to John would also be done to him.

'No they won't, because-' The board broke lose. '- we'll be gone by the time they get here.' He kicked it through trying to make as little noise as possible. He slipped through the hole and crouched near the corner of the shed they had been kept in.

His eyes hurt with the bright daylight shining down. Those women had taken his sunglasses. The pain in his head worsened from the effort of escape, he wasn't sure if he could be fast enough to lead them all to safety. But he was right, they couldn't stay, not when they knew so little, and also since they had the chance to escape. McKay slid through last, knocking the board slightly. Carson shook his head.

John signalled for them to follow and they took off into the Forest.

Getting around the compound had been fairly easy. Sheppard had kept up the pace and made sure that he had an eye on their prison cell to see if they sent any people to check on them. Nothing so far. McKay's attempts to stay low had resulted in his complaining of back pain and walking normally. They were quite well hidden by the forest, but John didn't know if they had scouts or not.

They reached the back of the building Ronan was being kept in and John forced McKay to kneel.

'Ow? Hello, in pain here – that floor did nothing for my back. I should order a special mattress to be sent to Atlantis, because the ones we have are like rock-' He whispered. Sheppard shoved a hand on his mouth and glared, Rodney nodded and John took his hand away.

'You stay here.' He mouthed to Rodney. 'You watch the cell, and let me know if we have company.' He mouthed to Carson. Carson nodded and moved off slowly.

John crept out from the Forest and approached the back of the building. There was no door, but there was some form of window toward the top. He placed his hands on the rim and hoisted himself up, peering over the edge. The room was full of colourful materials, curtains and a single chair with an unusual leather pillow. No sign of Ronan. No sign of anyone. He lowered himself down and walked back a few steps before jogging up to the wall and launching himself up to the window and perching on the sill. He scanned the room – still nothing. He was about to jump down when he stopped.

Below him, quite happily soaking in a large tub, was Ronan. A fully naked Ronan. John wobbled on the sill and fell forward, managing to land on his feet and hands and avoiding the tub.

'Hey Sheppard.' Ronan greeted, smiling widely.

'Ronan.' He paused. 'What are you doing?' He asked incredulously.

'Having a bath.' He replied simply.

'I can see that. Why?' John averted his eyes. The wooden tub was fairly small, and Ronan's long legs were dangling over the edge with his naked torso leaning back quite comfortably.

'They fixed my leg, and they gave me a bath.' He grinned again. 'Apparently they thought I needed it.'

'McKay will be thrilled.' John said under his breath. 'Look, Carson, Rodney and I broke out of prison to…save you. We're heading back.' John whispered to him.

'No.' He stated.

'No?' John echoed, stepping toward his friend. 'I know these ladies are – well…they gave you a bath, but, we need to get out of here, because I don't think that they're planning to do that for the rest of us.'

'They felt guilty for shooting me.' Ronan informed him.

John looked to the wound and saw a tight leather strap covering his calf. 'And that hasn't got you worried, the fact that they shot you?'

'And then they gave me a bath.' He repeated, spooning the water up his torso.

'Yeah, I can see that - probably too much of that.' John turned around. 'I'll find you some clothes and we'll get out of here.' He walked around the tub and fiddled with a few of the curtains, his hand went for a pale pink curtain and Ronan made a 'not going to happen' noise. 'Like we have time to be picky.' John ripped down a green curtain which revealed a woman with dark hair. She punched him in the chest and sent him flying into the side of the tub. Ronan climbed from the tub as John stood, John glanced at him sideways and seeing that he was still naked thrust the green curtain at him. Ronan smiled, wrapping the curtain around his waist while John tried his best to block the image from his mind.

The woman was pretty but was obviously a warrior from the taught muscles her arms bared. She smiled seductively.

'She was the one giving me a bath.' Ronan informed him.

John rose an eyebrow.


	3. Pink Curtains and Small Pox

Chapter 3 – Pink Curtains and Small Pox

'I just wanted to go bloody fishing.' Carson groaned.

'What, being held by a village full of Warrior women isn't as fun as fishing?' Rodney rolled his eyes, the binds on his hands itching. 'Is there any reason why they felt they had to tie these so tightly? My hands are turning blue.'

Rodney and Carson had been brought to the large hall Sheppard had seen from their cell, and it did look like some sort of meeting place where people were granted audiences with the leader. A large chair with charms draped over the handles sat in front of them, a guard on either side.

Rodney smiled weakly to the one on the left, she snarled at him and Rodney shuffled back slightly.

'Is this what it's like with you lot? Every time you go off world, you get into trouble and come back a bloodied mess.' Carson asked. 'This is Elizabeth's idea of revenge because of my asking her to come with me; I don't know what you Americans have against fishing but your down right cruel when asked to go!'

'Carson, I have nothing against fishing, sure a fish here or there over an hour or so – but the idea of camping and fending off armies of mosquitoes and hours of holding a rod in the hope that a salmonid will commit suicide, just doesn't appeal.' Rodney explained harshly, giving the Scot a glare from the corner of his eye.

'There's a lot more to fishing than that Rodney, it's about peace and quiet, and being one with nature – not kneeling in front of a two angry-looking women with my hands tied behind my back and awaiting a horrible fate.' Carson growled. 'When we get back to Atlantis, I will take you on a proper fishing trip-'

'There's no way-' Rodney shook his head.

'It's on the mainland; nothing can go wrong there for heavens sake.' Carson insisted.

'Nothing can go – if this trip has taught you anything Carson, it should have taught you to expect trouble were you least expect it.' Rodney snapped.

'Don't lecture me, Rodney, this was nothing more than an unfortunate fluke-' Carson started working against his own binds.

'Yeah, well, it's a fluke that chafes.' Rodney grunted. 'I think these are getting loose.' He smiled at Carson.

'Really?' Carson started working harder on his own.

The two men sat there, their bodies jerking in attempts to break their binds. The sight that made them pause was a pair of muscular legs, a bare belly, a spear and angry eyes staring down at them. The woman raised an eyebrow with menace.

'Sorry.' Rodney said quietly, Carson nodded as they both sat upright.

The doors behind them were flung wide, John and Ronan pushed in by three women. John was pushed to the floor by Rodney, and Ronan by Carson. Their hands were also bound.

Carson went to nod a solemn 'hello' to Ronan when he did a double take, his jaw hitting the floor. 'What in the hell did they do to you?!' He exclaimed.

'They gave him a bath.' John piped up from the other end.

Mckay leant forward to see a half naked Ronan with a curtain round his waist. 'Thank god.' He commented.

Ronan raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing.

A woman with long black hair and cool blue eyes emerged from a room to the side. She gracefully sat on the throne, leaning back, and taking in the scene before her with coldness. John noted the large silver necklace she wore around her neck – a torque with a single amber stone in the centre.

'I'm guessing that's the boss.' John whispered to Rodney.

'Well she is sitting in the throne.' Rodney informed him. John glanced at him; clearly the man had missed his point. They had been sent to the principle's office and were about to get a caning.

She sat and watched them for a few moments, allowing them to feel uncomfortable and frustrated. John wasn't a patient man at the best of times.

'I take it you're in charge?' He stated more than asked. She did not answer, but cocked her head. What, he was talking in a foreign language? He prepared himself to spurt the usual greeting. 'My name is Colonel John Sheppard. This is Doctor Rodney Mckay, Doctor Carson Beckett and Ronan Dex. We're peaceful explorers.' He paused, nodding. She still said nothing. John looked at his team mates who looked back in slight confusion. John clamped his mouth shut sharply and then spoke again. 'Look, I know you've gotta be pretty upset that we broke out of your little prison, but we didn't hurt anyone, and our only intent was to get back to the Gate and go home.'

She raised a hand, extending her index finger to stroke the bridge of her nose.

'Two shamans in one scout.' She stated. John paused. Firstly, he didn't know what a shaman was, and secondly, he recognised that voice as being the woman who had spoken to them in their cell. He glanced down at his team mates, both Rodney and Carson exchanging looks of realisation.

'I'm sorry, shamans?' John said slowly.

'Scout group?' Ronan echoed with a frown.

'Yes, two shamans.' Rodney declared. 'Except Doctor Beckett is a shaman of medicine, and I am a shaman of science.' He said proudly, as thought the latter were better.

'What do you mean by scout group?' Ronan demanded.

The woman turned to him, her eyes set on his face and not his manly torso. 'You were in our territory. The Dryads never venture so far unless they have a purpose – so what is yours?'

'Dryad?' Carson echoed. 'I'm sorry but, I think you've got us confused with someone else.'

'Isn't a dryad a nymph or something?' Mckay whispered to Sheppard.

'Like I know.' He whispered incredulously, then turned his attention back to the woman in the throne. 'Look, we're not who you think we are and we're sorry for the inconvenience, all we want to do is get out of here.' Sheppard insisted.

'How long must you keep up this charade?' She said wearily.

'What? Oh come on, you must have noticed a difference.' Rodney complained. 'I mean, our dress, our speech – and our technology are far different than anything this planet has to offer.'

The woman said nothing, but looked at them in turn. John knew that she did not believe them to be who she said they were, and yet, she still wanted to play games with them. By accusing them of being someone else, they tried desperately to prove their innocence, delving out information to her that told her more than she should know. These people obviously didn't like whoever these Dryads were, and so to be accused of being one of them was not a good thing – especially when they were so far from any kind of help. What this woman wanted was information and she was being damned sneaky about obtaining it. John narrowed his eyes at her.

'Your technology is of interest to us, Mckay. These large metal weapons in particular.' The guard next to her produced one of the MP5's. The woman took it in both hands and felt the weight of it as she stood. She approached the team. 'What does it do?' Her hands found the trigger as she felt the metal – the only problem being that she was holding it backwards.

'I wouldn't do that.' John warned.

'Why?' She asked, not taking her eyes from the weapon.

'Because you'll hurt yourself.' He snapped, seeing her finger flexing almost enough to fire a shot, and he was certain that the safety was off.

Her eyes glared at him. A woman from behind whacked him in the head with the butt of her spear and John fell forward.

'Hey!' Rodney complained, and then realising that he had complained out loud gave the woman a sheepish grin.

John could feel fresh blood trickle down the back of his neck. These women really did like to hit him. Okay, yes, he had been slightly condescending to a Warrior Queen, but she wasn't playing ball. John could feel the darkness creeping back, the wave of nausea…boy was fishing fun.

Carson tried to struggle his way over to the Colonel seeing the injury, but the woman from behind grabbed his shoulder and flung him back into the line. Carson glowered at her, his head turning swiftly to the leader.

'I don't know what's going on here but that was totally uncalled for, the man already has a serious head injury as it is because of you.' He growled. 'We're not here to cause trouble, all we wanted to do was go fishing.'

The woman raised an eyebrow.

'Well, some of us wanted to go fishing, the others were somewhat, forced to go. Some would even go as far as to say threatened – to go, so, really, I'm not supposed to be here.' Rodney nodded, thinking that there was a possibility that she would understand what he was talking about. Carson threw him a nasty look.

'Look, I'm a Doctor, let me treat him.' He began shuffling over to Sheppard again who was still on the floor with a steady flow of blood trickling onto the ground. The woman behind brought the spear over his head and shoved it under his throat, choking him.

'Carson!' Rodney exclaimed. Ronan fell back onto the ground and brought his legs around, taking the woman's out from underneath her. The spear clattered to the ground and Carson fell forward.

'Enough!' The woman yelled. 'Bring all of them to their knees!'

Before Ronan could really get into the swing of things, even in his curtain, a guard that had been watching the front door hit him in the face with her foot and hoisted him to his knees again. Rodney watched on, being the only one who hadn't been pushed to the floor. Carson was still coughing in the attempt to get oxygen back into his system, and with his hands behind his back, there was no way he could massage the large purple bruise forming on his throat. Sheppard had been easily brought to his knees; the only problem had been keeping him from falling to the ground again. Rodney noticed how pale he was, how his eyes were barely open – the Colonel had seen better days. Rodney looked up and saw the leader looking at him expectantly. A horrible realisation dawned on him. Sheppard and Ronan were basically unconscious and Carson was having too much trouble breathing to talk. It was up to him to save them. Again.

'Well, I see you're all very efficient at the, uh, beating, very nice…look, I know we trespassed – accidentally, but Carson's right, the only reason we came to this planet was to fish. We're not the evil, horrible men who forget anniversaries and flirt outrageously with our girlfriend's sister – well, Sheppard might be,' he said quietly, casting the Colonel a quick questioning glance. 'but I don't, and I know that Carson would sooner fight a Wraith armada than risk a relationship - but then I think he's anal in that respect, me? I'm not anal, like that, if I were to forget an anniversary –which I wouldn't – then I would make up for it with much romantic séances, unless the reason I forgot was because I had made a major scientific breakthrough, then I'm sure the woman that I had married would understand-'

'Rodney.' Carson croaked. 'Get on with it.'

'Oh, right.' He nodded. 'We're not evil, not here to harm anyone and we are most certainly not these Dryad people that you don't like. We are quite happy to just go back where we came from and never return. And I am especially happy to do that as soon as possible because I think Chef is serving meatloaf tonight.' He smiled at Carson who rolled his bloodshot eyes to the heavens.

Rodney turned back to the woman, who had sat during his ramble and given the weapon back to her guard, and gave her a nervous half-smile. The woman stared for a moment and then broke out into a wide smile of her own, laughing softly. Rodney frowned.

'I didn't say anything funny.' He stated rather harshly. Carson threw him a warning glare.

'You are an amusing individual Mckay.' She chuckled.

'Aye, you should see him when he's had a few drinks.' Carson rasped, attitude shining in his eyes.

'And I shall!' She jumped from her seat, her rather revealing outfit allowing them to see more of her supple skin than should have been made legal.

'You shall?' Rodney asked, confused.

'Yes.' She walked over to them. 'Cut their bonds.' She ordered.

The woman behind them obliged. Sheppard fell to the floor while Ronan held himself up, just. Carson's hand immediately went to massage his throat before he quickly crossed over to Sheppard and began checking his wounds. Rodney looked slightly stunned, but stood.

'Understand that I am not releasing you.' She stated. The smile fell from Rodney's face and was replaced by something far more bitter.

'And why not?' He asked.

'I believe that you are not of the Dryads.'

'Well I could have told you that - oh wait, I did.' Rodney snapped.

'Rodney.' Carson growled, not looking up from his place on the floor by Sheppard.

'Well-' Rodney stopped at the amused look on her face, a look that was starting to bug him. A look that – a look that wasn't amused at all, he was so out of practice he hadn't seen it until she was up close. The smile was not one of amusement, but of sensual admiration. Rodney's face went blank. 'Well. What exactly are we supposed to do. Here, I mean.' He edged to Ronan's side when he saw the hunger in her eyes.

She smiled widely again.

'Forget that Rodney, why can't we get our people home?' Carson demanded, looking at the woman with a dark frown. 'The Colonel's got a serious head injury, probably a concussion, there's no way he can heal here.'

'This is the reason that I wish for you to remain – we have shamans of our own with special herbs.' She walked toward Carson. 'The injuries you have are from the paranoia of an ancient feud, I ask for your forgiveness and that you will accept our medical assistance.' She said firmly. Carson saw the women behind her flex their muscles menacingly. He smiled weakly.

'Aye. That'd be wonderful.' He gave Rodney a look that said the exact opposite, a look the scientist mirrored. He paused. 'And once they've healed, you'll let us go?'

The woman gave a single gracious nod.

'Alright, but I need the equipment you took from me – not the weapons.' He said quickly, seeing a suspicious look creeping back onto her face. 'There was a bag with a box in it; it's full of medical supplies. I need them to treat the Colonel.'

'You will have it.' She nodded. 'And until you leave our village, we shall accommodate you with something more suitable than our holding room, something for which I'm sure you will be glad.'

'Oh I don't know, it seemed quite cosy, the odd pillow here or there and it would have been Tarzan's paradise.' Rodney said lightly, giving her the 'not happy' face he regularly gave to his scientists.

She smiled, not knowing who or what Tarzan was, but understanding his cocky and arrogant nature. 'Since you are fit Mckay and Beckett, I would expect for you to join us in our daily activities. The fields need working and we could use all the help we can find.'

Carson sighed but Rodney looked totally stunned. 'What? I'm not a Farmer, what do I know about plants?'

'By the end of your stay here, you will know much.' She smiled.

Carson grinned; at least she had a sense of humour. Rodney scowled.

'So, no meat loaf tonight then?' Rodney stated, folding his arms and looking thoroughly peeved.

'I do not know what this meatloaf is, but I believe that tonight is worthy of celebration. Would a grand feast and fine mead appease your appetite?' She offered.

'Yes. Thank you.' Rodney stared; the idea of a feast being grand but also because he felt that right now, after saving their butts, that he deserved it.

'That's very kind, but we have rations we could use if the food-' Carson began.

'The forest provides us with much; we are not in any danger of starvation.' She insisted.

'Well thank you, that would be lovely –' Carson paused.

'Lada.' Adina called to the guard beside her who walked in front. 'See to Dex and Sheppard, they require healing. Once Beckett is finished here, escort him to Sheppard's resting place. Once he is finished, he will join Mckay in the fields.' The woman nodded and walked to Sheppard, lifting him off the ground with another woman – an amazing feat considering that Sheppard wasn't exactly a small man. Ronan stood, raising an eyebrow to the Doctor's while another woman took him from the room.

Rodney glanced at Carson. 'Alone at last.' He muttered. Adina smiled. She had obviously been leader for a long time, and whatever game she was playing, Carson hadn't a clue. It wasn't like he was in any position to argue with her.

'What is your name, if you don't mind my asking?' He narrowed his eyes at her.

'You have every right to ask. I am Adina Dreydan, leader of the Sussearans.' She said proudly.

Rodney nodded. 'Nice, that has a nice sound to it.' He tried.

'Where do you come from Mckay?' She asked, leaning back in her throne.

'On a planet, far from here.' He replied quickly, casting Carson a nervous glance. The Wraith did not know that Atlantis had survived the attack, and he still didn't know what experience these people had had with the Wraith apart from the fact that they were aware of them. He wouldn't make the mistake of revealing too much in a first contact situation, something he hated to admit, that he had learnt from Sheppard.

Adina smiled slightly. 'I see. And you have travelled through the shining puddle – to fish?' She looked between them. 'Are there no suitable grounds for you to hunt on your home world?'

'I'm afraid they're quite far.' Carson explained briefly.

Adina nodded. 'And you had no knowledge that this place was home to my people?'

'We thought this planet was uninhabited by humans, which is why our leader allowed us to take some time off. You have a lovely home.' Carson offered, Adina thanked him for his words, and then she paused, giving Mckay a look over.

The scientist watched her. 'Yes, truly, very lovely, apart from the hot sun, mosquitoes and the odd bout of violence – it's a great place. I'm sure that we've had a wonderful… what are you doing?' Mckay asked quickly, Adina's eyes stopping their search of his body and examining his face.

'Do I make you uncomfortable?' She teased.

'No.' He scoffed, folding his arms. Adina slinked toward him. 'Slightly.' He squeaked. She grinned.

Mckay took a step back when she started to get too close.

'As the leader of the Sussearans, my every move is known to all, and so my people are well aware that I have been starved of male attention in many years.' She cooed. 'We have never before encountered beings with whom we are compatible, and also whom we find pleasing-' Mckay felt his back hit the wall and her finger trace the lines of his torso.

'That's nice, I'm glad were lickable – I mean, likeable – that's always nice to hear.' He stuttered, feeling dwarfed by her height, eyes as wide as dinner plates.

'The Dryads are an evil race of warriors, and where the attraction of a dark man is strong; they have never been overly smart or genius.' She paused, putting her hands by her sides. 'Your company will truly be intriguing – Rodney.' She looked to her other guard. 'Treleb will take you to Sheppard, Beckett, and then escort you both to the fields.' She looked back at Rodney and smiled, walking from the room into her private chambers.

Mckay gulped, breathing heavily. His wide eyes turned to Carson who had a comical look on his face, much like the moment Rodney had appeared in the outfit he had planned to wear on this planet. Carson had covered his mouth, but the laughter was clearly in his eyes. Mckay just blinked.

Carson moved his hand half way from his mouth. 'Should I have given you two a moment?'

'She was hitting on me.' Rodney spluttered. 'Can you believe that she was hitting on me?'

'No, I really can't.' Carson chuckled.

Mckay's eyes narrowed. 'Oh shut up.' He slumped. 'At least I got hit on by an Amazon Queen while you had the privilege of watching.' He smiled widely, folding his arms.

'And what a pleasurable privilege it was.' Carson glanced at the guard waiting for them, his smile widening when she returned it.

Mckay scowled at them. 'You could learn something from me, Carson. I can romance the pants off of women – literally! Did ya not see the heat between me and the _Queen _of these people-?' Carson put a hand on his shoulder urging him forward.

'Alright, Casanova, let's get moving.' Carson grinned, nodding to the guard to take them to Sheppard.

John felt warm, comfortable. He woke to the smells of the forest and the sound of a busy village. He blinked in the new light invading his eyes and lifted his hand to shield them. He felt water drip down his arm as he lifted it and looked at his hand. It was wet. He looked down and was surprised to see his naked self soaking in the tub Ronan had been in earlier. The only thing he appeared to be wearing was his dog tags. John quickly looked around the room and saw no one. Despite the headache and nausea and dizziness, he leapt from the tub and yanked one of the curtains down, wrapping it quickly around his waist. Who in the hell had put him in there?

Making sure that the curtain was securely stuck to his waist, he considered his options. Leave the room and be surrounded by women tugging at his curtain, not to mention the fact that his comrades would poke fun at him for the rest of his life. Or stay put, here, in a curtain. The options weren't exactly fabulous.

John suddenly realised that in his desperation to cover up, he had chosen the pink curtain that Ronan had refused to wear earlier. John rolled his eyes. There was no way he was going outside. He figured that since they were giving him a bath that the guys had managed to talk their way out of the nasty situation they had been in before, which meant he was in no immediate danger. He could wait for someone to show up, and then ask for clothes. His clothes preferably, leather straps weren't exactly his thing. And neither was a pink curtain.

John paced the room for a moment, his impatience rising. Not only had he been bathed without his permission, they had knocked him out twice, giving him the Mother of all headaches. John strode over to the door, his pink skirt fluttering around his bare ankles. He yanked the door open far enough to peek out. The day was coming to a close, but the village was still teeming with hard working women. Damn. He hadn't seen where they took Ronan's clothes when he was in the cell; he had been too worried about getting to his friend at the time.

John was about to close the door when a young woman suddenly stepped out from the side, she gasped at seeing him peek out and John opened the door wide.

'Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to-' He began, when he heard laughter roaring from the well in the centre of the village, just across from the bath house.

John narrowed his eyes to see who was laughing, and gritted his teeth. Ronan was sitting on a stool bent forward, laughing like a Hyena. John nodded, his fist balling.

'Alright, Ronan, I get it. Very funny.' John gave the girl a harsh look when he caught her smirking at his pink curtain and then sauntered back inside. 'Can I have some clothes please?' He demanded more than asked.

The girl followed him inside, closing the door on Ronan's hysterics.

'Are you certain? The skirt you wear is quite becoming.' She teased.

John gave her a side long glance which made her smile dissipate slightly.

'Do not fret Sheppard; my coming here was to provide you with clothes.' She placed his uniform on a small stool in the corner. 'They have been cleansed.' John thanked her, avoiding eye contact. 'Once you are dressed, I must escort you to our Shaman. Beckett managed to stop the bleeding from your wounds, but they require more treatment.'

John pulled the black T-shirt over his head and turned to the girl. 'Well, that's very generous, even though your people were the ones to give me this damn headache in the first place.'

John glanced at the hide skirt she wore and rather revealing top. She did not look like the other warriors he had seen in the village; she was younger, probably in training. Her dark hair was loose, falling down to the small of her back – she was pretty. Green eyes studied him with interest as well as caution.

'Adina apologises for your treatment, but we are at war. It was a misunderstanding.' She insisted, turning round as Sheppard picked up the trousers. He looked at her back and knew that she would not leave to let him change. He turned his back to her and slipped the trousers on under the curtain, whipping it off as quickly as possible.

'I take it you were the one to…' He paused, slowly readjusting his dog tags.

'Bathe you? Yes. It was requested. I did not volunteer.' She said sternly. 'Believe me Colonel, I behaved myself.' John raised an eyebrow. 'If anything, it was a waste, you were not that dirty. Adina merely wants to create a sense of trust between our people.'

'Sorry for the inconvenience, but I never wanted to be bathed in the first place.' He walked toward her. 'But thanks for the trouble.'

The woman turned. 'You are welcome.' She looked at him dressed in his uniform; he felt her eyes study him, recognising him not only as a soldier, but as a man. He brushed past her, the awkwardness making him twitchy.

'Where's the rest of my team?' He asked, opening the door. He saw Ronan still sitting by the well talking with a few women, all of whom were smiling and touching his arms. John shook his head.

'Ronan, as you can see, is resting his injury in the company of my sisters.' She said disapprovingly. 'Carson and Rodney have been taken to the field to work. It appears Adina was slightly displeased with your Scientist and believed the hard work would make him re-think his attitude.'

John smiled, only Mckay could get under the skin of the Queen of the Amazons. 'Knowing Mckay, not even a month in solitary confinement with a colony of man eating ants could make him re-think his attitude.'

'I sensed this also.' She walked out of the building and headed down a path into the village.

John slowly wandered out into the village and stopped, looking down to his bare feet.

'Um…hold on a second.'

The woman stopped and turned, looking displeased that she had been stopped.

'Don't suppose you have my boots handy?' He asked, grinning.

She smiled, and continued walking. 'We will return for them later.'

John's smile fell from his face. He glanced at Ronan once more, smiling and revelling the attention of the leather clad women. Male through and through. Okay, so he wasn't exactly complaining. He was happy that these people weren't kids, or the usual villagers. They were warrior women. It was new, and this job was all about the nude – the new. John shook his head and realised that he had been walking in zig zags behind this women, his injury apparently affecting his ability to walk in a straight line. He also realised that he was watching her long hide skirt flutter around her calves. Her very attractive calves. John mentally scolded himself and joined her at her side.

'So…do you have a name?' He asked lightly. She sighed.

'I am Boe.' She smiled weakly. John studied her. She hadn't been happy since the moment he woke up. Okay, since the moment he had gotten out of that ridiculous skirt, but that sight was enough to make any seriously depressed mental patient roll around in fits of laughter.

'I'm John, Sheppard, Colonel – but you can call me John.' He added clumsily.

'John.' She echoed. 'Why did you venture to our planet?'

'Fishing, a popular and rivetingly exciting pass time where I come from.' He said sarcastically.

'Why do I believe this is not so?' She smiled weakly.

'Okay, so I see fishing as a Robin to the Batman of all sport – Football, but that's another kettle of fish entirely. No pun intended.' He explained.

She frowned. 'Your speech is strange. I have never encountered such unusual men, but then I have never had meetings with many men at all.'

'Oh, so seeing me must be pretty damn strange.' John stated. 'On my world, men and women live together, in a kind of harmony.'

Boe smiled with scepticism. 'Really? And this is not difficult?'

'Oh it's difficult, but we manage, you know, unless there's the old "leave the toilet seat up" incident, or the "you just don't understand my feelings" bit. Then things can get a little complicated.' John nodded.

Boe had no idea what the man was saying, but liked what he said any way. She had never been spoken to by a man who was making pleasant conversation; at least, that was what her sisters believed. The smile fell as her mind wandered. John saw this.

'If you don't mind me asking, you don't exactly seem all that happy about something.' He prodded, trying to produce a face of reassurance. Really he was made uncomfortable by female problems and did everything he could to avoid them, but in this case, these people could be future allies. He needed to make with the nice.

Boe quickly gave a wide smile. Too quickly. 'Here is the Shamans hut, the woman inside is Gwyna, she is a wonderful healer.' Boe looked to the floor, avoiding eye contact.

'You know, changing the subject is not going to make the problem go away.' He said quietly, fixing her with his brown eyes encouraging her to say what was on her mind. Boe's shoulders drooped slightly. She didn't know this man, but for some reason, she found that she could trust him.

'You know nothing about my culture, John, and so I ask that you keep my thoughts to yourself.' She whispered.

'Of course.' John frowned, getting the feeling that he was entering into something he shouldn't.

She shut her eyes for a moment, the sound of the village buzzing all around her. She glanced at the hut behind them and spoke. 'The Kredan is approaching. On the twenty first year of a girl's life, she must join with a Dryad in order to make the passage.'

John did a double take. 'Join?'

Boe nodded. 'It is as you think.'

John nodded, his eyes straying to the ground in slight embarrassment. 'I thought the Dryad were your enemies?'

'They are, but our people and theirs have made this arrangement for many generations. It is our only way to make new sisters.' She glanced nervously at the hut again.

'I take it these Dryad people are all…male, right?' John queried, a few things now making sense about their capture.

Boe nodded. 'The Dryads send their best warriors to the Lake house where they meet the women with whom they must join with, they receive pleasure, and we receive the not only the passage to womanhood, but the cast which dictates our lives.' She urged, her eyes full of anger. Clearly this was a bad thing.

John shook his head. 'The cast being…?'

'If a woman falls pregnant, then she is doomed to serve the rest of her days as a mother and a fieldworker, if she does not fall pregnant, then she becomes a warrior who's actions are decided by Adina.'

John frowned. 'That's an interesting way of deciding occupation.' He said slowly. 'Hold on, I don't see any men or even boys in this village-'

'If a woman gives birth to a son, he is immediately taken to be raised by the Dryads, and the Mother is entered back into training to become a warrior.' She explained. 'This is so the woman can redeem herself for aiding the Dryads in replenishing their numbers.'

'Replenishing their – why not keep them?' John asked angrily.

'They are male – Dryad, it is part of the agreement. And we would never even consider murdering one so helpless, that is our way. It cannot stay and it cannot die, therefore it must leave.'

He felt a heat surge through his body and the pain in his head hammered against his skull. 'How can they do that? Twenty one years old and your entire life is decided by one night of sex? And not even meaningful sex! And then the kid gets chucked out just because he has a penis!' He paused. 'That seriously sucks.' John paused again, this time realising how loud he had been and seeing the alarm on Boe's face. 'Sorry, just, I think that's wrong.'

'So do I.' She breathed hard. 'But to refuse the act would mean war with the Dryads.' She paused. 'I am aged twenty one this year. The Kredan is in three days.'

John stopped. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Nothing. He couldn't help her and cause war between two people, he couldn't be responsible for that. But to leave her here and face that…

'I do not expect anything from you, this must happen, I have no choice.' She looked to her village. 'It does not mean that I have to like it.'

John admired her courage, but the whole thing asked a lot from a woman who had barely lived.

'Please, the Shaman is waiting; we must prepare you for the evening's festivities.' She smiled weakly.

'Festivities?' He echoed, putting on a pleasantly surprised face to hide his feelings over the new and rather disturbing information.

'Adina has demanded a great feast with music and dancing in honour of our new found friendship.' Boe explained, her hands fidgeting at her side.

John could see that she was worried and that she was trying her best to brave the coming Kredan, but for the moment, he wasn't sure what to do. He only knew something had to be done. He also found it difficult to believe that Elizabeth would allow Atlantis and these people to become allies if that was the way they chose to live their lives. He could imagine Teyla storming over here and drilling it into their heads that this was no way for a woman to live.

'Well, at least your people don't have the arguments about the toilet seat incident.' He offered seriously.

'This is good, oh yeah, this is what I wanted to be doing with my time off – ploughing. With a primitive machine which makes me bend over for hours at a time causing back pain – I'm going to look like a withering, hunchback crone when we leave this planet.' Rodney complained, hoisting the large wooden plough through the mud. Carson rolled his eyes.

'You already sound like a crone,' he muttered, 'but at least you're back to believing that we'll get home in one piece.'

'Maybe we'll get home Carson, but _if_ it's in one piece, I'm still gonna have to be airlifted out of here – do you know how heavy this is?' Rodney stopped pulling.

Carson also stopped pulling and glared at him, letting his own plough rest against his leg for a moment. 'No Rodney, I have no idea how heavy it is, I'm just doing the exact same thing as you are.'

'Oh, yes, so you are.' Rodney glanced at the woman to the side of the small field keeping an eye on them. 'Don't suppose you have any water?' He called. The woman did not respond. 'That's nice. Dehydration is handy.'

'If these women can handle it Rodney, I'm sure you'll survive.' Carson started pulling again. Rodney watched him go before hastily picking up his plough to catch up with him.

'These women are use to it, Carson, the heat, the manual labour – me? I'm use to air conditioning and lab work with a comfy chair, not to mention as much food and water as I need.' Rodney looked up to the clear sky, the warm sun making him sweat. 'I feel like bacon out here. You should have let me keep the hat, now, I'll burn, feint and die.'

'Your exposure to the sun hasn't nearly been long enough for that to happen, Rodney.' Carson insisted, the scientist's whining making him pull harder if only to get away. But Rodney kept up. Just.

'You're right, it'll be the starvation that gets me.' He croaked.

Carson rolled his eyes.

'Men!' The guard called. Carson and Rodney stopped pulling their ploughs, both ready to collapse. 'We must prepare.'

'Prepare for what?' Rodney whined.

_Ten minutes later…_

'If you tell anyone about this, I'll inject you with small pox.' Carson stated simply.

'Like this is a moment in my life that I'd like to share.' Rodney replied quietly.

They sat in silence.

'The water's cold.' Rodney complained.

'No.' Carson snapped. 'There is no water, Rodney, do you hear me?'

'Right.' Rodney sank further into the tub while Carson merely didn't move. 'I mean, they had to face us opposite each other, they couldn't put us in our own rooms or even turn us around.' He sulked, his hands shielding parts he didn't want seen that Carson couldn't see anyway from where he was. Carson was doing the same, a vacant expression on his face. 'I suppose we could have refused, but that would've probably insulted her highness…plus, it wasn't as though I was going to argue with spear lady.' Rodney explained. Carson remained silent. 'Do you think they'll bring more water?' He asked hopefully. 'Or maybe a large towel…'

Carson shut his eyes and slid down the tub, music playing in the dusk.


	4. Fruit and Fire

Chapter 4 

Fruit and Fire

'No! Really, I can't, I'm not, I'm injured! So, dancing isn't going to be –' Try as he might, Sheppard could not stop the two girls pulling him into dancing around the fire. Ronan laughed at his awkward movements.

The Festivities had begun at dusk, a large fire had been lit in a space behind the meeting hall, and all of the villagers had congregated there. Drums, pipes and horns were played whilst a healthy amount of the women were dancing, some around the fire itself. Ronan leant on a long table absolutely covered in food. Fresh fruit and shredded Pig recently cooked on a spit. To his left at the end of the table were two large pottery vessels, one of mead, and the other an even stronger and more lethal substance the Sussearans called "Gridnak."

Ronan chuckled as Sheppard stumbled, casting the girls a sheepish grin. They laughed and pulled him on. As Sheppard came round, the girls skipping merrily to the beat of the music, he glared at Ronan, mouthing to him to "get me out." Ronan raised his eyebrows and smiled. John scowled at him as the ring went round again.

Ronan surveyed the happy scene as the darkness became absolute, the roaring glow of the fire the only source of light apart from the stars. He munched a fruit much like an apple, glancing round at the buildings. If they wanted to, they could easily get back to the Gate without anyone noticing, he had suggested as much to Sheppard. But John had seemed absolutely sure that there was a reason to stay, a reason he hadn't shared although it clearly troubled him. Ronan knew half of it was because they were surrounded by scantily clad women, but the other half was something more. When he was ready, he would share. Until that time, Ronan was content in letting him suffer in the endless skipping around the fire.

Ronan felt a presence at his side and turned to see Rodney tearing into the fruit on the table. He grabbed a handful of fruit and shoved it in his mouth. Carson gaped.

'I think I lost my appetite.' He turned from the food, while Mckay giving a Homer noise of approval, narrowed his eyes at him.

'Cloze to tweney four ourz wivvout food, Carzon, I'm luckee vat I haven' passed ou' wiv manlee 'unger.' He said defensively, shoving his nose in the air and continuing his hunt down the long table for sustenance. 'Ooh! Is that pork?' He was away.

'Lovely.' Carson muttered, the image of half eaten food rolling around the mans molars still fresh in his mind. Carson rubbed his eyes and reached for a banana-like fruit, stripping the skin to reveal a blue centre. He raised his eyebrows. Ronan grinned. Carson took a timid bite, slowing for a second, and then nodding and chewing more vigorously. 'Tastes like strawberries and cream.' He smiled. Ronan frowned.

'Cream?'

Carson paused. 'Aye. You can't have been on Atlantis this long and not tried strawberries with cream?'

Ronan shrugged, turning his attention back to the dance.

Rodney returned looking sickly, gripping his stomach and covering his mouth. Carson watched him carefully, his medical senses tingling.

'What's the matter with you?' He asked, stepping forward.

Rodney paused, taking a breath before focusing his gaze on the Doctors face. 'Not pork.' He retched. 'Snake.'

Carson peered over his shoulder. 'That's a bloody big snake – it's the size of a tree!'

'One of the women said they store pieces down by the river-' Ronan informed, Rodney clutched his stomach again. 'Apparently it lasts for months, they take their young warriors to hunt for them as training – apparently gutting the snake is an art in itself.' Rodney closed his eyes breathing deeply. Ronan grinned. 'Tastes like chicken.'

Rodney's eyes snapped open. 'What, you tasted it? As in put it inside your mouth? That is disgusting.' Rodney scowled at him.

'It's slightly chewy, they have a separate bowl for the stomach lining – apparently they can make a kind of meaty sausage with it.' Ronan said to Carson. Rodney made a noise of disgust and turned away.

'I think I just became a vegetarian.' He whined. Carson smiled at Ronan.

'Just put your head between your legs, Rodney, you'll be fine.' Rodney did so, slumping to the ground. Carson turned to watch the dance. 'They're a lively bunch, I'll give them that.' Carson paused, standing straight, moving slightly to get a better view. 'That's not…no, it can't be-'

'Yup.' Ronan nodded with a wide grin. 'Sheppard dancing.'

Rodney shoved himself to his feet quickly, jerking his head to the fire. 'Where?'

The scientist caught sight of the Colonel being tugged around the fire by a small blonde wearing a short green skirt. He was smiling on and off when he thought she was looking, but made the effort to keep up. He came round the fire looking for Ronan again and his eyes went wide. Rodney gave a little wave with his mouth slightly open. Sheppard shut his eyes as he went round again. Rodney's face broke out into an awkward smile.

'He's dancing.' He pointed out.

'He's obviously feeling better.' Carson commented, smiling.

'He's dancing.'

'Yes, Rodney, the man is gaily skipping around a large fire, which I would have thought was slightly dangerous-' Carson began.

'No, no, no, no, no! You don't know what this means!' Rodney turned to him with glee in his eyes.

Carson sighed. 'It means you can taunt him to the end of his days.'

'Absolutely.' He chuckled cruelly. 'Give us a twirl, Colonel!' He called delightfully as John came round again. He scowled at the Scientist, and usually Rodney would be put off, but there was a strange happy feeling making him oblivious to the "danger" look.

'I didn't think he'd be so active for a long while, a head injury like his. Their shaman must have worked wonders.' Carson frowned slightly, thinking how he'd like to get a look at their medicine.

'Where were you?' Ronan asked, grabbing another piece of fruit.

Carson faced him with a frown. 'What do you mean?'

'Before coming here, what were you two doing? Haven't seen you since this morning.' He began munching.

Carson's eyes went wide and the grin fell from Rodney's face. Ronan was bombarded with answers not exactly giving him the information he seeked.

'We were nowhere, just around, mostly, in the village…'

'There was some work we had to do after, nothing major…'

They both stopped abruptly catching each others eye.

'Why do you ask?' Rodney gulped.

Ronan shrugged, seeing that he had stepped into something with a little more to it than the question suggested. 'Curious.'

'Well, we know what curiosity did the cat now, don't we Carson?' Rodney blurted, turning to the Doctor.

'Yes, indeed Rodney.' Carson nodded emphatically.

Ronan looked between them. 'Okay.' He said simply, not overly bothered with their strange behaviour.

The two men looked at each other with nervous eyes before turning to the table and shoving something large in their mouths.

Ronan watched Sheppard whisper something in the blonde girl's ear and she smiled, nodding at one of her sisters dancing next to her while looking over to the three men at the table. Ronan frowned as the brunette emerged from the circle, bounding up to them. Carson merely stared while Rodney seemed overly preoccupied with his fruit.

She breathed heavily, smiling at them. 'Which one of you is Ronaldey?' She asked, looking between them.

The three men exchanged glances, Carson and Ronan smiling cheekily. Rodney took a huge bite of his fruit giving him extraordinarily large cheeks.

She cocked her head trying to figure it out when Sheppard came back round and yelled. 'The small one on the left.'

Rodney dropped the fruit to the floor and glared at the Colonel with all the fury his chipmunk cheeks could muster. 'I am not small.' He shrieked, then paused, grinning sheepishly at the girl. She smiled mischievously and grabbed his hands. 'Oh God.' Rodney muttered as he was pulled into the dance.

Ronan and Carson laughed as Mckay was pulled around, nervously skipping next to a dozen women all admiring him for simply being male.

'It is a wonder that you laugh at those having a good time and do not join them.' Adina smiled, walking up to them. 'There are plenty of my sisters to go around.'

'No thanks.' Ronan smiled, as though it were the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. Carson laughed softly.

'Aye, I'm afraid that dancing just isn't my specialty.' He nodded.

Adina smiled widely and took his hand. 'Then you must practice.' She yanked his arm and forced him into the circle, bumping into three girls who turned and led him around. Carson apologised for his clumsy entrance and turned to see Rodney doing some skipping of his own.

'Rodney.' Carson acknowledged stiffly.

'Carson.' Rodney replied in kind.

Ronan laughed harder, folding his arms. Adina turned to him, walking to his side to witness the merriment of her sisters and the newcomers. Ronan gave her a side glance wondering if she would try it with him as well. He dug his heels into the ground.

'Do not worry Ronan; I believe that there is no possible way to move you into doing something you do not wish to do.' She smiled.

Ronan lifted his head, grunting his agreement with a smile. 'Sometimes, I want to do a lot, but, we can't have fires in the city where I come from.' He turned to her with a wide smile, she nodded extending her arm. Ronan swept her into the dancing circle.

The night drew on and the team were enjoying the company from many women, including some of the younger ones who had never seen a man before. They were mesmerised by Ronan's height, one girl climbing onto the shoulders of another just to reach his nose. Ronan grinned, steadying the human tower before they fell. Other girls were interested by the fact that Carson and Rodney were shamans, and yet they had different areas of expertise.

'I am all about the science, the fire you see and the tiny molecules it's made of , the stars and their ever increasing projection of movement, light and radiation – which is an interesting story actually about the time that myself and Sheppard, me mostly with the use of my calm and collected superior knowledge, Sheppard helped a little, mostly to make sure that I was alive in order to save the crew on one of our ships – yes, we have space ships capable of interstellar travel – and the ship had been invaded with a Wraith virus – mh, yes, I have many, many heroic stories I can regale you with about the Wraith – but, um, well, the situation required the stalwart heroes to be incredibly close to a star which was almost certainly a death sentence because of the amount of radiation it was emitting and I was quite ready to die for the cause, to save my people by sacrificing myself and exposing my body to deadly rays – oh no! Don't worry, obviously I was successful, I'm still here! But I suffered grave injuries in completing the mission - '

'Aye, I was the one that had to treat the sun burn when he got back on board the ship.' Carson added. The girls giggled. Rodney glared. The wind had been taken from his sails.

'It was a little more than sun burn, Carson – '

'Oh, alright, it was severe sun burn, but with the right ointment and painkillers, not to mention one too many days of rest in my opinion, he made a full recovery.' Carson explained, leaning back in his chair.

'Obviously.' Rodney snapped, folding his arms.

John was leaning against a pole supporting a small porch into one of the buildings. The fire was still raging but the music had slowed to a quietly merry tune. Many of the women were still dancing – that part he liked to watch and not experience, ever again. He had felt better the moment he saw that the rest of his team mates had been shoved into the dance as well, but Rodney would never let him forget that he was the first. 'Eager Beaver' was the nickname he was using for him at the moment, and nothing bugged John more when Rodney had a reason to call him something ridiculous.

'You are resting?' A voice said over his shoulder. John turned to see Boe walking toward him. He smiled.

'Yeah. I think I pulled something when I was dancing.' He nodded. Boe laughed softly.

'Your friends certainly seem to be enjoying the attention.' She stated, watching as Ronan hid something from one of the children and their grasping at him to try and find it.

'It's not often we come to a world where the people are so friendly.' John informed her, folding his arms. 'But then most of them aren't based on a huge lie.' He paused. 'Well, that's not exactly true, but your situation is pretty unique.'

Boe bowed her head. 'My people have lived this way for many years, and nothing I say will change it.'

John wasn't so sure. 'Did you try? Have you spoken to Adina? She seems pretty – '

' – Weary of my silent complaining.' Boe interrupted. 'She knows that I am against most of the rituals of our people, and she has also made sure that I am involved in every single one.' Boe began walking away, John joined her. 'She has taken a personal interest in my up bringing because of it.'

'Up bringing? You're almost twenty one, you should be the one making decisions about what your life will be – not some god damn sperm.' He said harshly, lowering his voice.

Boe nodded. 'Almost twenty one…' She echoed, then paused. 'What is sperm?'

John looked up at her with sudden surprise. 'Um, it's, well when the man, it's…it's a complicated biological term.' John said quickly. Boe nodded and said no more. John looked to the floor. 'I've been thinking about the whole thing and you and I both know that I can't order your people to change,' He glanced at her as she was listening intently, 'but I can request to my leader that you be brought back to my world to live with the Athosians, if you're interested.'

Boe seemed slightly taken back, she opened her mouth a few times but no sound came.

John rushed to explain.

'The Athosians are another set of people living with us who are at the same level of technology as you are, they're perfectly nice people and I know they'd take you in. The only big difference for you would be the fact that men and women live in the same camp.'

Boe stopped walking, giving him a firm look. She was clearly thinking it over. She sighed. 'It is an enormously generous offer Colonel.'

'But…?' John prodded, seeing the doubt in her eyes.

'I believe that you are of a good people and that your intentions are true, and so your offer stands in high regard, and I have never understood the ways of my people, and even worse, I am shunned for disliking them.' She paused. 'I need time to think on this offer, do I have it?' She asked.

'Sure, it's not like I was telling you to pack your bags right now.' John assured her. 'Just know that the offer is there.'

'Thank you, I –' There was a sudden commotion in the village, the music stopped playing as attention was drawn to a single warrior calling Adina. The leader approached the warrior and John watched as she was handed something. He squinted to see what it was and began to move to her.

'I'll be right back.' John jogged to Adina who looked at him with an angry frown.

'What is this?' She demanded, thrusting something out at him.

Rodney, Carson and Ronan gathered staring at the item in her hand. It crackled.

'It's a radio.' John explained. 'It's my people trying to contact us.'

Adina examined it closely, when it crackled again. 'Colonel Sheppard, this is Weir, please respond.'

'That's my leader. She's checking up on us, to make sure we're okay.' John edged forward.

Adina watched him cautiously whilst handing him the foreign device.

John up righted it and clicked the side button. 'Elizabeth, this is Sheppard, we're here.'

The radio crackled. 'Where have you been? You were supposed to come back through the Gate an hour ago; you can't possibly be having that much of a good time.'

John smiled. 'Well, as a matter of fact, we're having a great time.' He chirped.

'Really?' Elizabeth almost sounded impressed. 'I see Carson has installed some of his love for the outdoors in you, I look forward to many fish steaks.' She joked.

'Well, the whole fishing thing didn't really go as planned…' John began.

'What do you mean?' Elizabeth sounded wary.

'Well, Ronan got shot in the leg with an arrow and Carson's pretty damn sure that I have a concussion, or at least had a concussion, their medicine seems to have some extreme healing abilities.' John informed her, smiling at Adina as she nodded her thanks at his praise.

'…What? Hold on, you were attacked -?' Elizabeth began.

'The locals thought we were the bad guys, but it's all good now, we're having a feast – and earlier – there was dancing. If that's what you call what I was doing.' John looked to his team who gave him the 'yeah, it could pass for it' signs.

'Lorne's initial sweep of the area detected no sign of civilisation.' Elizabeth insisted, as though what he was saying wasn't true.

'Well, apparently, there are two. Lorne wouldn't have found them though; they know the forest too well.' John noticed that a large crowd had gathered, women looking on in interest. He smiled awkwardly at them, wishing it were more of a private conversation.

'And you're alright?' She asked.

'We're fine, it was just a misunderstanding. In fact, you interrupted a pretty good shindig.' John nodded.

'There's a massive feast in our honour!' Carson called.

'And some sort of snake platter with stomach lining on the side.' Rodney added disdainfully.

'They gave us a bath.' Ronan stated, thinking it was useful information.

The team's attention snapped to the Satedan who shrugged. John scowled. The radio crackled.

'What do you mean bath?' Elizabeth spluttered.

'What do you mean "us"?' Rodney asked fearfully.

'Like you would be squeaky clean after a day of working in the fields.' Ronan grinned. 'I can't smell sweat or filth, and I can't see dirt. They gave you baths.' He folded his arms.

Carson gaped, his cheeks shining beetroot in the glow of the fire. Rodney stuttered for a few seconds trying to form a sentence.

'Wait a minute, wait a minute! You can smell people? Why would you do that? Are you always smelling me or is it some weird obsession?' He snapped.

'It's hard not to smell you Mckay.' Ronan narrowed his eyes. Rodney did a double take.

'Oh! I'm sorry! Did the caveman of the Stone Age with the overhanging brow and excrement scent just accuse me, the modern scientist who showers daily, of being smelly? I don't think so! Because that would be ridiculous now, wouldn't it!' Mckay growled. Ronan unfolded his arms and stalked his way to the Scientist with menace. Rodney held his ground, a look of defiance in his eyes. Carson stepped in front of Ronan, knowing that he could quite easily break the scientist in two.

'Easy lads, let's not do anything stupid now.' He said softly, looking between them.

'John?' The radio crackled. 'Are you there? What did Ronan say about baths? Is everything alright?' The radio insisted.

'Oh nothing, just Ronan and Rodney at each others throats again. I swear, these kids just don't play well together – I think we need to separate them.' John cooed into the radio, giving his team mates condescending looks. Ronan gave him a side long glance while Rodney scowled at him. 'Anyway, all's good here, we're establishing relations with the Sussearans and we hope to open trade negotiations for some Gridnak.' John smiled.

'Sussearans?' Elizabeth asked.

'It's the name of their people, a people who are all of the female persuasion…' He added.

'They're all women?'

'Warrior women – like Amazons.' Carson called. John frowned.

'Get your own damn radio.' He whispered.

'That part you forgot to mention.' Elizabeth voice sounded as though it had a smile attached to it. 'Four guys in the middle of a female camp…perhaps I should send Teyla, she might relate better…?'

'No, no, we've got this – we'll check in in the morning, we need to discuss a few things.' He looked to the ground, turning from Adina. Ronan noticed the look on his face, the look when he was hiding something.

The radio paused. 'Alright. In the morning, and Colonel-'

John listened intently.

'- behave yourself. That goes for the rest of you boys too.'

John rolled his eyes while the rest of them exchanged glances of innocence.

John smiled. 'Good night, Elizabeth.'

'Atlantis out.' The radio went silent.

John turned to the crowd. 'Well, everything's alright, how about we start that music up again?' He raised his eyebrows at Adina who nodded for the festivities to continue. The crowd dissipated, most going straight back to dancing. The team gathered.

'I hope you don't mind if we stay here tonight.' John smiled at Adina.

She nodded, a firmness in her eyes. 'I insist.' She gave the group one last look before walking to her hut.

'She seems kinda tense.' Rodney stated.

'Yeah, listen, I need you guys to hear something about these women, something I think is pretty damn wrong.' John began walking to where he last saw Boe. She was no longer there.

'What's that?' Carson asked.

'Well, the way they chose how they live their lives is kinda sucky, and I don't agree with it.' He explained, searching the crowd for the young woman.

'You can't criticise a culture we barely know, Colonel.' Rodney scolded.

'Their lives are determined by a single night of sex, Rodney, and whether or not they fall pregnant – it's a whole deal where their kids got to the Dryads if they're male, and if you don't have kids you're forced to be a warrior. The thing is, Boe turns twenty one in a few days-' John walked along the line of the village, his team in tow.

'Boe?' Ronan asked.

'The girl that…she was the one to help me…you know.' He trailed off.

Rodney frowned. Ronan walked past him and muttered. 'Bath.' Rodney nodded his understanding.

John stopped a moment and frowned. He squinted into the darkness and saw Boe slinking off into the forest, casting the village a nervous glance as she left. Ronan caught sight of her too and frowned. 'Weird.'

John signalled for them to follow. They crept into the forest using the little light from the fire and the stars, John in the lead. He saw Boe's elbow poke out from a tree and circled the area, bringing the rest of them around to see her – not alone. Boe had her arms wrapped around a tall man, kissing him passionately.

'I thought there weren't any men in the camp?' Rodney said to Sheppard.

John gritted his teeth. 'There aren't.'

Ronan finally understood Sheppard's frustration. 'The only men on this planet are the Dryads.'

Carson looked to the floor, almost trying to give the two some privacy. 'Aren't the Sussearans and the Dryads at war?'

John nodded slightly. 'Yes they are.'

The team watched on as Boe and the man continued kissing under the light of the moon.


	5. Sniffing Rodents

Chapter 5 – 

Sniffing Rodents

'We should get moving.' Ronan insisted.

'Yeah.' John nodded. 'Okay.' No wonder Boe wanted out, she already had someone. And with the Kredan approaching fast it would men that she would give herself to someone else to appease her people's agreement with the Dryad's. John gritted his teeth. How could this be the best planted he'd been to and the worst? 'Let's go.' He started to move.

'Coran no!' John turned to see an angry man speeding toward him with a mean looking dagger in hand. John stood quickly and ducked the first attack, the second, before leaping back to miss the swipe aimed at his chest.

'Hey!' John protested.

The man came at him again, the dagger swiping from the right. John's wrist deflected the blow and he used his other hand to deliver a mighty punch. The man staggered back and turned quickly to continue the fight. Boe jumped in front of him, her hands planted firmly on his chest. 'No! Please.' She turned to John. 'Do not!' The fight paused. Boe faced the man with pleading in her eyes. 'These are the travellers I spoke of, they are good people.' The man narrowed his eyes at the group.

'It seems they have strayed too far into our business.' He said quietly, almost with regret.

'Well, no offence, but the village is just over your shoulder, not exactly a great place to come and…' Rodney waved a hand at them. '…kanoodle.' Carson frowned at him. 'You're not even supposed to be kanoodling in the first place.'

Boe's jaw was set. 'I am aware, McKay, thank you for your observation.'

'Alright.' John breathed, he turned to Boe. 'The guy with the knife would be…?'

'Coran.' He stated. Tall, fair hair and bright blue eyes. John could see from his stance and large arms that he was a hunter, and apparently he had some skill with a blade. John tugged at the tear in his shirt where the dagger had nearly sliced his chest.

'He is Dryad.' Boe informed them, worry playing across her face.

'And you and Dryads aren't suppose to kanoodle at all unless it's, what, what did you call it, a single night of something or other…' Rodney asked Sheppard.

'The Kredan.' He filled in.

'Right…? So I take it that you, what? Aren't like, Kredanning partners or whatever?' Rodney frowned.

Boe shook her head. 'The woman cannot choose her partner for the Kredan and she will not see him before or after the Kredan.'

'I thought you guys had segregated villages that were pretty far away?' John asked, baffled by how he could be here.

'I come every second night, I leave as soon as the sun sets, this ensures at least an hour between us.' He looked to Boe. 'I must leave soon if I am to return for sun up.' Boe looked to the floor.

'How did you two meet each other? If your people are separated like they are, how on earth did you two…' Carson asked.

'Meet to kanoodle?' Rodney finished. Carson slumped.

'Would you stop saying that? It's really starting to creep me out.' Carson growled.

'Well what am I suppose to say?' Rodney retorted.

'Kissing or snogging - anything except that. It's love Rodney, not some sort of rotten cheese shoved at the back of your fridge. You are in love aren't you?' Carson turned to the couple.

'Carson, you can't just ask them that.' Rodney snapped.

'I just did you great prude.' Carson glared at him.

'I am not a prude-' Rodney began.

'Guys!' John shouted.

'Please! Keep your voices down! My sisters will have patrols surrounding the village.' Boe pleaded with an angry eye.

'Well maybe you should go and – do what you do somewhere else – are you happy now? It sounds even worse than kanoodle.' Rodney turned to Carson.

'Only because you're the one saying it.' The Doctor muttered.

Rodney scowled.

'I swear, the next mission, you guys are staying at home.' John chided.

'We are.' Coran interrupted, bringing their focus back to them. 'In love.' He took Boe's shoulders and pulled her back gently up against him. 'We first met when my scout team were doing reconnaissance; Boe had been taken by her people to train in the art of hunting, except they had crossed the border in an attempt to capture a rare animal that runs our plains.'

'I had separated from the group when I discovered one, and that's when I stumbled onto Coran.' Boe informed them. 'He told me that if he did take me prisoner that I would be lashed for my crime.'

'My group was close by, and so I took her to the edge of our border and released her.' He looked down at her face. 'I was so captured by her beauty and her brave heart that I told her that I wished to see her again.'

'And I consented.' Boe finished.

Rodney scrunched his nose. 'Oh please.' He turned from the group. 'Schmaltz.'

John shook his head. 'How long have you guys been seeing each other.'

'We have seen two Summers together.' Coran informed him.

Carson's mouth fell open. 'Two years? You've been hiding this relationship for two years?' He glanced up at Ronan. 'That's awfully sneaky.'

'What would happen if they found out?' Ronan asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

Coran's eyes were fixed on the tall Satedan. 'Boe would be tortured for her betrayal and made to serve as a slave to their leader, Adina. The penalty for my betrayal is death.' He explained.

'For being in love?' Carson asked incredulously.

Boe nodded. John shook his head, hating this world more and more.

'Okay, so why don't you guys just leave? Run away together and-' He began.

'We can't.' Boe snarled, tears filling her eyes. 'My sisters would hunt me down just as surely as would the Dryads hunt Coran. Our people have been at war for centuries and our crimes are great, they would not stop hunting us, and that is no way to live.'

'It's no way to live by loving in secret.' John said firmly.

'If we ran, we would not get far. The forest only grows to the mountains, and they are treacherous. Beyond that is a Jungle, vast and deadly. We would not survive.' Coran informed them, sweeping Boe's hair from one side of her neck to the other.

'So you're stuck doing this for the rest of your lives, until you get caught.' Ronan commented. 'That's not living.'

'We have no choice.' Boe bowed her head.

'Maybe you do.' John said quietly, thinking it over.

Boe and Coran frowned at him. The rest of his team frowned at him.

'What are you thinking now?' Rodney folded his arms, looking extremely uninviting of any ideas the Colonel had.

'The offer I made you - ' he said to Boe '- I can extend it for two.' He glanced at Coran who frowned deeply. Boe breathed quickly and her hand went to her forehead.

'I want to accept John, I do, but if we were to leave this world-' She paused desperately thinking of how to make it work.

'Our people would be at war.' Coran told them.

'You're kidding!' Rodney exclaimed. 'This whole situation is ridiculous! Why can't you just explain that this is what happened, and that this is the way it is?'

'To reveal that we crossed the border? That Coran let me go? That we have been going behind the backs of our people for two Summers? That would surely start a war.' Boe snarled at him. Coran held her back as she stepped forward menacingly.

McKay, looking rather sheepish, stepped back.

'Look, let me talk to my leader first and we'll go from there.' John said, trying to reassure the couple that there was more to life than this.

'The Kredan is in just under two Suns. I cannot, I will not participate.' Boe turned from the group walking away.

'And I will not allow it.' Coran stated. 'This leaves us with only one choice which we know ends in only one way.' He glanced back. 'We must leave. Our people will take chase, but unite in the hunt, once we are captured, their vengeance will be appeased with our blood. There cannot be war between our people if we are far from the camps because neither side would be to blame for hiding us.'

'That's a bad plan.' John stated. 'That's a very bad plan.'

'The Colonel's right, your people may fight anyway, you don't know what can happen. There's no point in dieing in the hopes that they won't.' Carson insisted.

'What offer?' Rodney clicked.

John frowned. 'What?'

'The offer - you made an offer, what was it?' He asked quickly.

'A little late aren't you McKay?' John rolled his eyes.

'Would you just tell me?' Rodney said waspishly.

'They can live on the mainland with the Athosians, live as a couple who don't have to hide like this.' He explained.

'That involves us.' Ronan stated.

'And?' John growled at the Satedan.

'Ronan is right, if you do anything, they will know that you helped us. You will be punished also.' Boe informed them.

'Well they can't punish us if we're not here.' John started to walk back to the village. 'Just hang tight; come back tomorrow night, we'll have a far better plan then yours by then.'

Coran surged forward, stopping Sheppard. 'Why are you helping us?' He asked wearily. 'How do I know that you will not go to Adina and tell her of our meetings?'

John paused. 'I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic, okay, I'm also one of the good guys and I hate how your people do business, so I'm helping you.' He walked round him and Coran turned back to Boe.

'To see your face in the sun light.' He whispered to her before kissing her gently and leaving. Boe watched him go into the forest.

'It's alright love, we'll sort you out.' Carson put a hand on her shoulder. She smiled weakly.

'What are you, Mother hen?' Rodney drawled. Carson gritted his teeth.

'Let's get back to the party, shall we?' Carson offered for Boe to go in front, she nodded graciously.

Boe joined Sheppard at the front. 'Thank you.' She whispered. He glanced at her, seeing her ashen face in the moonlight.

'Don't thank me yet. I still gotta come up with a plan, and that's more difficult than it sounds if we're gonna avoid a war.' He smiled grimly. Boe nodded and paused, her eyes darting to the trees in front; she dropped to the floor and crawled through the bush. She jumped up and turned, a large white flower in her hand.

'This is the Jaslinda flower; it had very strong medicinal properties.' She explained as the group gathered. John noted her fast breathing and nervous expression.

'What are you doing?'

The group turned to face Adina with two of her guards standing at her side. She did not look happy.

'Adina.' Boe smiled weakly. 'I was showing Sheppard and his team some of our medicinal herbs; Carson in particular was interested to know how we healed Ronan and John so quickly.'

Adina nodded her head slowly. 'I see. Were the celebrations becoming tiresome?' Her eyes fixed on the newcomers.

'We were hiding.' John stated. Boe's head snapped in his direction. 'I don't know about Ronan, but I sure as hell wasn't looking to do any more dancing this evening. Or this morning.' He smiled confidently.

Adina mirrored the smile with cautiousness. 'Boe may show you the rest of our Forest in the morning; most of my sisters have retired to bed since your departure so I believe it is safe for you to show your face.'

'Ah, good, I could eat a horse.' Rodney walked forward, nervously smiling at Adina as he passed.

'Rodney.' Adina called as the rest of the group followed. 'Please remain behind.'

Rodney gulped, casting the Colonel a look which reminded him of a timid rabbit about to be squashed by a military jeep. Rodney saw the Colonel nod at him with a confident twinkle. Rodney gulped again as the group slowly continued on into the village escorted by the guards. Adina walked forwards, her hips swaying far more than was normal.

'Your friends are interestingly curious.' She stated.

'Well, they are interesting.' He looked back to see where they were, anxiously realising that they were nowhere to be seen.

'What were they doing here?' She asked quietly, slipping her hands around his waist, not giving McKay the chance to scurry back. 'Dawn not far and their curiosity for herbs was far greater than the call of sleep?'

McKay's eyes were wide. He had the worst poker face in the world, and how could he concentrate on lying when she was rubbing her hands up and down his back.

'Well, we're explorers.' He squeaked.

'Ronan doesn't strike me as much of a man to be interested in plants.' She insisted, her face coming close to his, her eyes glancing at his lips seductively.

'Ronan isn't interested in a lot of things.' His head craned back as she leant forward. 'Science, medicine…conversation.'

'Then why was he here?' She asked again.

Rodney paused, angered by her use of seduction to manipulate him. He may be a girl in most situations, but he wouldn't be fooled by a woman wearing a hide boob tube. 'Because he's part of the team.' He said more confidently. 'Where we go, he goes. That's the whole point of being a team.'

She nodded, seeing that she wasn't going to get the truth. She moved on. 'You did not have nearly enough to drink.' She whispered. Rodney blinked.

'Excuse me?' He croaked.

'You are not nearly well enough intoxicated, shaman.' She cooed, drawing closer.

McKay's eyes went wide.

'Where is he?' John growled, pacing the length of the room.

'He won't say anything.' Ronan stated.

'How do we know that? We have no idea what she's doing to him!' John snapped.

'He won't say anything because he knows what I'll do to him if he does.' Ronan promised.

'Rodney's an ass, but he's got something of a backbone. I'm sure he'll be fine.' Carson insisted.

'Could you say that with a little less confidence, Carson?' John scowled.

Carson frowned at him and John continued pacing. As time went on, John grew more impatient, sitting on the bed and closing his eyes for a few minutes before staring at the ceiling. Carson sighed.

'Don't suppose anybody brought cards?' He asked hopefully.

Ronan raised his eyebrows.

'Cards.' Carson repeated seeing his puzzled face. 'God, I really do need to educate in the ways of passing time, Ronan.'

John rose from his bed of straw and hide. The room was fairly large with four of these beds lining the walls. He glanced up at the window, it would be morning soon. He marched to the door.

'Where do you think you're going?' Carson demanded.

'To find Rodney.' He reached for the handle.

'Don't.' Ronan stated.

'Why?' John snapped, turning to the Satedan.

'You act worried about him, like they're gonna hurt him, they'll get suspicious. They'll want to know why.' He stated. John cocked his head and yanked the door open.

'They're already suspicious.' He shot back, about to march outside when Rodney stumbled through the door, smiling widely.

'Hey guys!' He chirped.

'Rodney! Where in the hell have you been? You've been gone for two hours!' John hit his shoulder.

'Oh, you know, around, here, there – places.' He wandered into the room. John frowned. He hadn't complained about being pushed and he was smiling at five in the morning - without his coffee.

Rodney wondered over to a spare bed and plopped down. He didn't complain about how hard or uncomfortable it was, as John thought he would. He swung his legs up and lay down, turning to face the wall. Carson and Ronan watched. John walked forward.

'And?' He prodded.

McKay didn't answer.

'McKay.' John said firmly.

'Mh?' He said quietly, obviously drifting to sleep.

John narrowed his eyes before marching across the floor to McKay's bed, grabbing the edge of the hide sheet and pulling it from under him. McKay toppled onto the floor with a thud. He shot up with anger contorting his face.

'What is your problem!?' He yelled. 'I could have seriously damaged my coccyx!'

'That's better!' John shouted back.

'What?' McKay snarled.

'You walk in here like you've just been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Science, McKay. What's wrong with you?' John asked seriously.

'Nothing is wrong with me.' He snapped. 'I am perfectly fine, better than ever. Or I was until I landed on the floor – look, I'm really tired.' He turned back to the bed.

'Don't even think about it, you little rodent.' Carson said swiftly. McKay paused, turning on his heel slowly, a look of awe on his face.

'_Rodent_?' He echoed. 'Did you just call me a rodent?'

'You've got to tell us what happened, does she know?' Carson asked.

'Does who know what?' Rodney folded his arms, giving the Scot a steely eye.

'Don't play games with me, you stressy little bugger.' Carson stood.

Rodney did a double take. 'What is with the name calling? All I did was walk in here-'

'McKay.' John growled. 'Does she know.'

'No.' He snapped. 'Not exactly.'

They looked at him. 'What do you mean not exactly?' John asked.

'She knows something's up, but she doesn't know what.' McKay informed them.

'We've got to be careful; she'll be keeping an eye on us.' Carson said, looking at John and Ronan. Ronan didn't take his eyes from McKay.

'What were you doing with her?' He asked, his long legs stretched out on the bed. Rodney's eyes went to the floor and his feet began to shuffle. Ronan smiled slightly.

'Doing? Nothing.' He answered, turning back to the bed.

'Doing nothing doesn't take two hours.' He stated, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Rodney turned with as much hostility as he could muster. 'She asked me questions about what we were doing, I said nothing, it's very boring - can I go to sleep now?'

'That doesn't take two hours either.' John sighed.

'What happened Rodney?' Carson frowned.

McKay shrugged, a strange look on his face. Ronan rose from the bed and sauntered over, towering over McKay so that their faces were mere inches apart. Rodney stared. Ronan sniffed.

'Oh come on! You can't know what I was doing by smelling me!' Rodney complained.

'Yeah I can.' He sauntered back over to the bed. 'Plus your fly is open.'

Rodney's eyes shot down to his trousers where Carson and John's eyes also went. The Scientist quickly zipped them up, giving them a half smile, his cheeks burning.

'Oh.' John raised his eyebrows.

'There's no way.' Carson gaped. 'The Queen of the Amazons chose a little twerp like you?' Rodney glared. 'Well I suppose she was completely deprived of male resources.' He wondered.

Rodney scowled. 'Yes, the Queen of the Amazons chose me and not you, so let's be clear about which of us is the more attractive.' He grinned.

'You are not more attractive than I am, Rodney McKay, and don't think some sex starved masculine female indicates otherwise.' Carson growled at him.

'She is not masculine-'

'She can kick your ass from here to Jupiter, Rodney-'

'So? She can kick Ronan's ass from here to Jupiter-'

'Hey.' Ronan protested.

'Well she can.' Rodney insisted.

'Okay, that's not the point. At least we can use McKay as a distraction in the future.' John walked to the door, grabbing his gear on the way.

'Where are you going?' McKay snapped, unhappy at being designated their official distraction.

'Atlantis, I'm taking Boe.' He walked out. Ronan rose and followed.

The door slammed shut behind them. 'Sheppard.' Ronan called. John looked back.

'Stay with Carson and Rodney, I'll be back soon.' He said.

'Sheppard, you can't take her with you.' Ronan told him.

'I'll bring her back.' John reasoned.

'Are you sure you're not doing this for another reason?' Ronan asked, the crisp morning air biting at his skin.

'What are you talking about?' John frowned back at him.

'She's a pretty girl.' He stated.

John stopped and turned, an incredulous expression on his face. 'That has nothing to do with it.' He continued walking.

Ronan paused watching him head to Boe's hut and knocking on her door. The girl emerged, sleepy and disorientated, but Sheppard took her hand and led the way out of the village. Ronan shook his head and walked back to the room.

Boe had led him to the Gate easily. They walked across the massive field as the sun rose in the sky, Boe glanced at him nervously.

'They will know I am gone. Adina will suspect-'

'It's a trade. I take you to make sure that I'm not doing anything untoward, when really I am, and Rodney, Ronan and Carson stay behind so Adina can make sure that I bring you back.' Sheppard explained.

Boe nodded. John marched up to the DHD and punched in the dialling sequence for Atlantis. The Gate erupted and John reached for his radio.

'Atlantis, this is Sheppard, please come in.' A moment passed before the radio crackled.

'Colonel Sheppard, it's nice to hear your voice. How are things?' Doctor Weir asked.

'They could be better. Look, I'm bringing a visitor.' He informed, smiling at Boe.

'Come on home.' She ordered.

John nodded for Boe to step through; she walked up the steps and hesitated, touching the puddle shining before her.

'It's alright; it's kinda like a ride.' John smiled reassuringly. She smiled back, taking a breath before stepping through. John glanced back at the field before following. The Gate shut down.

Ronan wandered around the well in the village, his mind dwelling on various issues. He kicked a stone about. He hated playing the waiting game; he wasn't patient at the best of times. He watched as the village slowly came to life, noting that the day was far colder than it had been yesterday and some of the people came out of their huts wearing skins over their bare shoulders. He was suddenly distracted by shouts coming from his left.

'What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?'

Ronan watched as four of the warrior women threw McKay and Carson out of their room, kicking them and hitting them with the butt of their spears. Ronan sped over.

They did not see the large Satedan charge them, elbowing the first to the ground before kicking the second in the midsection and spinning round to back kick a third. The last raised her spear. Ronan toyed with her, dodging left and then feinting right, grabbing the spear and kicking her in the stomach before pulling the spear round to fling her to the ground. The others rose as Ronan twirled the spear, a smile on his face. He had no problem with hurting ladies.

Carson and Rodney stood, bleeding from various places.

'What did you do?' Ronan asked them.

'Nothing!' Rodney yelled. 'We were sleeping!'

'I think I prefer my alarm clock to this wake up call, thank you.' Carson nodded to the women.

'Stay behind me.' Ronan ordered.

'Not going to argue.' Rodney snapped.

The women crept forward before surging as one to attack. Ronan brought the spear around like a staff and knocked their spears back, sweeping round to take their legs from underneath them. Two fell hard. The other two advanced. Ronan blocked the staff of one and the kicks of another before catching the woman's spear and slamming her into the other. One of the women on the ground grabbed his ankle and Ronan stumbled back. She jumped up and hit him hard in the face, ducking his spear and kicking his chest. He stepped back, but her weight wasn't enough to take him down. He blocked her fists and caught her round house kick, spinning her to the floor.

'That's enough!' Adina marched forward with five women behind her, their bows and arrows already aimed. 'You know how accurate our arrows are Dex, I suggest you stand down.'

The women on the floor got to their feet, grabbing their spears and glaring at him with menace.

'Ronan.' Rodney said firmly, his eyes fixed on Adina.

Ronan gritted his teeth and chucked the spear to the floor. The women surged forward and beat him to the ground. Carson and Rodney leapt in from behind, both being hit in the face and falling to the floor. Rodney pulled himself to his feet, the vicious beating of Ronan continuing. He snarled at the women, his attention turning to Adina.

'Is that really necessary?!' He shrieked.

Adina held up a hand and the women stopped, backing off slightly. Carson immediately went to Ronan's side. He was not in good shape. Rodney glared at the Warrior Leader before helping Carson pull Ronan to a half sitting position.

'You know you have a funny way of dealing with people, you violent sodds!' Carson yelled at them, holding Ronan and inspecting his wounds. He was barely conscious.

Adina walked forward. 'This was indeed necessary, Mckay.' She seethed, a fury burning in her eyes. 'Your betrayal will be paid for in blood.'

Carson and Rodney looked up. Rodney glared and she did not waver. 'What did we do now?' He snarled, his brow bleeding down his cheek.

Adina didn't answer him. 'Take Dex and Beckett and tie them to the pole in the square. Take Mckay to my private quarters.' She demanded.

'I'm afraid that doesn't quite work for me.' Rodney shouted. 'I wasn't overly keen on the décor, or what little I saw of it last night.'

Carson admired his spirit, but sometimes the man needed to know when to stay silent. Adina sped forward and back handed him across the face. Mckay fell to the floor and did not stir.

'Oh that's just ridiculous.' Carson muttered, surrounded by his unconscious comrades. 'Just what do you think you are doing?' He asked Adina harshly.

The woman turned on her heel and scowled at him. 'Protecting our way of life.' She whispered. 'Do as I command!' The women surged forward.

'Adina!' A voice yelled. Carson watched as a woman ran to the leader, bowing quickly and then looking at her fearfully. 'They have come. The Dryads have sent a small force. Gredak wants to speak with you.'

Adina looked to the ground momentarily before looking back at Carson. 'The Dryads have come.' She seethed at him.

Carson stood. 'Well don't look at me as if it's my bloody fault!'


	6. Sentenced

Chapter 6 – 

Sentenced.

Elizabeth stared.

'Okay.' She paused, John looking at her expectantly.

'I know this is a lot to take in, but we need to move pretty quickly. These aren't the most trusting people.' John informed her, a look of certainty in this eye as he looked out over Atlantis.

'We cannot allow this girl to return to that place.' Teyla stated.

'It's a little more difficult than that, Teyla.' Elizabeth folded her arms and turned to look at the Colonel who was looking back at the girl he had brought with him. She was waiting in side with Zalenka at the controls. She looked back at them giving a nervous wave. John grinned and waved back. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. 'Are you sure that you're not doing this for different reasons, John?'

John stopped waving and gave her an eyebrow. 'I'll admit to being male, Elizabeth, and that she is a very nice girl – but that's not the reason I want to bring her here.' He straightened up.

'She is of course welcome to stay with the Athosians.' Teyla nodded. 'We will accept her with open arms, and she will live by making her own choices, she will not have to endure this…'

'Kredan.' John filled in. Teyla nodded. 'Yeah, I know that part sucks especially, but I'm not finished.'

Elizabeth shook her head. 'There's more?'

'She's in love with a guy called Coran, and they want to run away together. Here.' John smiled cheekily, giving Teyla a look of slight awkwardness which indicated that she may need to help in a moment.

Elizabeth gave him a steely eye. 'The only men on that planet are the Dryads, yes? With whom they are at an uneasy stand still with. And didn't you just say that it was their highest laws not to interact with them unless it is in the Kredan?' John nodded slowly, a sheepish look on his face. 'And that the penalty for such an interaction would not only be death for the people in question, but all out war between their people?' She asked incredulously.

John paused. 'Yup, that sounds about right.'

'John-' She began.

'Just hear me out.' John paused. 'We can't let them just kill people for falling in love with someone they don't like – and they can't force people to sleep with someone they don't know and allow that single night of sex determine their whole lives. It's not fair.'

'It is not living; they should be allowed to love freely.' Teyla agreed. 'Coran is also welcome, if Elizabeth allows the operation to go ahead?' She raised an eyebrow at the Earth woman who looked like she was on the fence.

'I don't feel comfortable meddling in the matters of other worlds, and this isn't just meddling! The consequences could be catastrophic for her people.' Elizabeth told him.

John pinned her with his brown eyes imploringly. 'I'll make sure there are no consequences.' He insisted.

'You have a plan?' She asked.

'Yes.' John said simply.

'A good plan?'

'It needs some tweaking.' He answered slowly. 'And I'll need Teyla to come with.'

Teyla nodded. Elizabeth raised her eyebrow and sighed. 'Alright. Talk to me.'

John smiled.

Rodney fell to the floor. Hard. He shot back up, nursing his jaw.

'You know, this is not the best way to get information. Usually when someone wants something, they ask. They even say please, it's called manners, I know they're foreign to you, but trust me, learn some and they'll stand you in good stead.' He snarled. Adina hit him again. McKay stumbled back.

'I grow impatient, Shaman.' She growled.

'You grow impatient?' He squeaked. 'Are you the one being punched hard in the face?' His brow furrowed as his tongue felt his teeth. 'Oh come on! I think you cracked my tooth. The dental's good with this job, but it's not great.'

'Enough!' She roared. McKay shut his numb mouth. 'You have betrayed me! You would tell me where Sheppard has taken my sister and I demand that she return to face the consequences of her actions!'

McKay gave a fake look of surprise. 'Actions?'

Adina scowled at him before kicking him hard in the chest. Rodney fell back onto the floor, complaining loudly. 'Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW! What is it with you! I already said that if you keep hurting me, I won't say anything!'

'I find that pain is very persuasive. Shall I retrieve my dagger and begin with shallow cuts, or shall we move onto the scorching power of the fire?' She seethed, advancing menacingly.

Rodney backed up, fear apparent in his eyes. 'I don't see a dagger.' He said, more with hope than confidence. Adina reached behind her back and took a long cruel dagger from her belt, twirling it in her fingers. McKay gulped. 'Handy.'

'Where is Boe?' She asked quietly.

'I don't know.' Rodney looked at her with defiance, his eyes flicking to the dagger with anxiety.

'Why as he taken her?'

'I have no idea.'

'What do you know of her lover?' She thrust the knife under his chin, banging his head against the wall.

McKay felt the blade cutting into his throat. 'Wait! Let's not do anything that can leave ugly scars, okay? I take good care of my skin, and on occasion, even use moisturiser, I mean, what's the point of having dry skin right?' He laughed nervously. She applied more pressure.

'Boe does not know what she has done. The Dryads are here seeking retribution. I must punish her and they must punish him, or this uneasy truce will end – our people will fight and both sides shall lose!' Adina growled. 'You could say our very lives are teetering on the edge of a knife.'

McKay smiled weakly. 'Funny.'

'I fail to see how this is amusing, she has betrayed us-!'

'What! For being in love? Please, there are way worse things than that!' Rodney yelled at her, then smiled sheepishly as she played the knife along his chin.

'It is evil to join with those who would enslave us, who have enslaved generations of our people merely because we have not broad shoulders or great muscle! It is also our religion that every woman lose her Ketah on the night of the Kredan and not before! Boe has done this!' Adina shouted.

'Ketah?' Rodney frowned.

'I believe that Sheppard referred to it as-'

'Something far cruder than what it actually is.' Rodney rushed.

'I will have her blood, or it will be yours and your friends who pay the price. Give me Boe, or I will start with Beckett.' She threatened.

McKay glared at her. 'I can't tell you what I don't know! I don't know where she is or why he took her! So stop being so idiotic with your demands!' He yelled nastily. Adina looked at him with a smile.

'You have a backbone after all, McKay.' She stopped smiling. 'A shame that I must tear it from you and wear it as a necklace.' She thrust him to the ground.

Rodney whined under his breath before turning to face her. 'That is just disgusting.' He stated.

Ronan felt pain everywhere. His head throbbed, his shoulders felt like they had been broken and his stomach – he could barely breathe.

'Ronan! I know you're not feeling particularly well, but we've got ourselves a bit of a problem!' A voice at his side said urgently.

The Satedan's eyes opened suddenly, looking around with anger and confusion as he remembered the earlier events. His arms were wound around a pole with his legs dangling a few feet from the ground. He glanced over and saw Carson in the same position. The Doctor smiled weakly, giving him a little wave with the fingers he could still move.

Ronan started struggling, pulling at the binds ferociously. Carson could see in his face that he was a tad upset – more like furious. These women would not be able to contain him if he got free, no matter what sort of shape he was in. He growled and shouted, trying his damndest to break free and ignore the pain, but with little effect. A few minutes later Carson started shaking his head.

'Alright! Stop it! You're just going to do yourself a mischief.' He told him. Ronan gave him an angry eyebrow. 'I've already tried it, these things aren't going to loosen, lad. I'm not suggesting that you give up, only that you give it a rest.'

Ronan hung limply for a moment, breathing hard. The pain was so much – god he needed to kill something.

'McKay?' He growled.

'I saw him being taken to Adina's quarters and I haven't seen him since.' Carson informed him, watching the village as the women went by, looking up at them. 'Don't suppose you can give us a hand, love?' He asked nicely. The woman hurried on. Carson watched her scuttle off and slumped. 'I feel like my arms have been pulled out of their bloody sockets.' He complained, trying to move them and get some feeling back.

Ronan agreed, but needed to know more. 'Sheppard?'

Carson shook his head. 'Not back yet. With any luck, he'll figure it out before he comes back and bring the cavalry.'

Ronan rolled his eyes. 'And how is he going to know that any of this has happened?'

Carson tried his best to shrug and stopped when he felt the pain. 'Magically develop telekinetic abilities?'

Ronan smiled slightly.

'You don't think Rodney'll tell that witch anything, do you?' He asked hopefully.

Ronan paused. Carson raised an eyebrow. Ronan gave him a look and then shook his head. 'No, he can be spineless, but he's most definitely not stupid. He knows what'll happen if he says anything. He won't allow it.'

Carson figured that, nodding. He paused. 'At least until they figure out his phobia of bugs. Then we're screwed.'

Ronan raised his eyebrows, and then frowned. He started to struggle again.

Carson frowned at his behaviour when he saw where Ronan was looking and stared down at a rather disturbing sight. Four men waltzed into the village with metal armour. All of them were tall, broad and hard-faced. Women scattered, hurrying to their homes, obviously afraid. The one in front walked with confidence, an arrogance that Carson could smell from a mile away. His dark hair and dark eyes finished the medieval look to perfection – but what worried him most was the man in between the two at the back who was practically being dragged along, struggling against their grip with his hands bound behind his back.

Carson hung his head. 'Coran.' He glared at Ronan before watching the men head for the meeting hall.

Ronan hated them already. His eyes said all that he wanted them to know. The man in front looked up at him and smiled.

Ronan struggled harder.

Boe bounded through the fields feeling as though she could soar. She smiled back at John who was grinning at her playfulness. Teyla smiled also, happy to see this girl so cheerful.

'She is full of joy.' Teyla stated. John nodded.

'Well that's because we did a good thing.' He told her.

Teyla shook her head grinning widely. John frowned slightly.

'What?'

'Nothing.' Teyla insisted.

'No, you had a something face. Come on, tell me.'

'John Sheppard insists on righting every wrong he meets in this galaxy, and nothing stands in his way.' Teyla gave him a half smile. John looked to the floor, his eyes blushing at the compliment.

'Well, I don't know if that's entirely, true, I just do what I can-'

'And you have done much!' Boe called back.

Teyla grinned and John remained at peace with the compliment. They continued on to the village, and when they drew close, John held Boe back. 'I wanna circle a little first, make sure everything's okay.'

Boe nodded. Anything this man said would be done. He had given her her life – and Coran's.

They crept closer, keeping low. Boe frowned.

'My sisters are scarce.' She observed. 'I do not understand.'

It was true, from what they could see, the city was devoid of people. Empty, unlike the lively village they had seen only yesterday. John frowned. He heard voices, feint voices. They moved around to see past another large building and stopped.

Ronan and Carson had been strapped high onto stakes pushed into the ground, both with their arms in uncomfortable positions. John hung his head. Their plan had gone slightly awry. Boe sobbed with angry eyes. Teyla put a hand on her shoulder.

'What do we do now?' Teyla asked.

'I must go.' Boe said sadly. 'The Dryads are here. They know about me and Coran.'

John frowned. 'How do you figure that?'

She nodded to the meeting hall. 'The guard is doubled.' She paused, her eyes searching the handsome man's face. 'I must go or there will be war.'

'If you go, they will kill you.' John said firmly.

'Not straight away. The execution of our own is done in a ritual under the light of the moon. If I return, it is possible that Adina will release your people.' Boe informed.

John glared at her. 'You don't know that.'

'It is all I can hope for.' She said quietly, looking to the village. 'I will tell Adina that I went with you for trade negotiations, and that you were not helping me. She will have no reason to keep them.'

She stood and John pulled her down. 'Just a minute.' He snapped, thinking hard.

'There is no other way.' Teyla told him. She looked to Boe. 'We will not allow them to kill you, we will return with a Jumper to free you.'

'No, that will mean war for my people-' Boe urged.

'Wait, the plan might still work. It's just a matter of access.' He looked at Boe with a hard expression. 'We'll come for you – and Coran.'

Boe nodded, kissing his cheek and then leaping into the village. John watched her go.

She ran to the stake where Ronan and Carson hung. Carson's eyes went wide.

'Boe? No! Love, you've got to get away from here. The Dryads have come and they've got Coran with them!' Carson told her. Ronan watched her approach.

'McKay's inside with them.' He added.

Boe looked to the doors of the meeting hall, a grim expression on her face. She looked up at them. 'I will make everything right.'

'No-' Carson couldn't finish, she sprinted to the doors and the guards grabbed her, thrusting her inside. 'Bloody hell.'

John glanced at Teyla. 'Here we go.'

Boe fell to the floor and scowled at the guards with such ferocity they brought their spears forward. She stumbled to her feet snarling at them before turning. She stopped, seeing that her behaviour had not gone unnoticed. Adina stood before her throne with a tall and dark man standing in front of her. To her right was McKay on his knees, a single guard holding a spear to his back. To her left were two other men holding a third to his knees. Her heart broke when she realised it was Coran. They had beaten him.

Boe looked to Adina with defiance. How did they know? They had been so careful for so long…her gaze fell on McKay who had also been severely beaten. She scowled at him, her rage on the verge of tearing him apart.

'The Shaman did not reveal the affair Sussearan.' The man said harshly.

Rodney looked up with attitude in his face, his brown eyes ablaze. 'No, I didn't. I kept my mouth firmly shut, thank you.' Adina's mouth twitched.

The man lifted his chin and smiled. 'I have known for some time that Coran was leaving our fair city to – meet, with one of your people Adina. It is treason and this you know, but since they are both here, their blood can be taken and there can be no war between us.'

Coran struggled, his blue eyes imploring Adina to be merciful for Boe's sake. 'She is innocent!' He yelled. 'I visited the camp and she refused to see me-' One of the men by his side kicked him hard in the face.

'No!' Boe leapt forward, only to be held fast by her own people.

'Does a person which refuses to see another care so for that person when they are beaten? No. And why did she not report his comings to her leader? She is as guilty as you, Coran, do not deny it.' He crossed the room, watching Boe. She glared back.

'Boe, this is Gredak, leader of the Dry-' Adina stepped forward.

'I know who he is.' She spat. 'And I have nothing to say to him, or to you.'

Adina seemed surprised by her behaviour, but recovered quickly with an icy stare. 'Not even an apology for betraying your sisters, and planning to leave your home to war and death for this boy? And with our new allies whose minds you have poisoned against our ways, you left with Sheppard to arrange your escape-'

'No! The newcomers knew of our relationship, but they did not understand our laws! They have done nothing to help, they did not want to jeopardise the relationship they had built with our people. I went to their world to begin trade negotiations and nothing more! These allies are not involved in this situation.' Boe told her. Coran admired her courage and loved her all the more for it.

'Soon to be ex-allies.' Rodney piped up.

Adina narrowed her eyes. 'Where is Sheppard now, Boe?'

'He is still on his home world. No doubt he will return.' Boe said coldly, folding her arms. McKay knew what would happen at that moment.

Adina nodded. 'I see.' She turned and sat in her throne. Gredak stepped forward.

'Adina. We must sentence them here and now with witnesses so that we may be on our way and this whole matter forgotten.' The man demanded.

'This is my chamber, Gredak.' She snapped. 'I will decide what happens with my people.' She glanced at Coran. 'And you must deal with your own.'

Boe hated her.

'Our laws state that these who do us wrong must be punished-' He growled.

'And they will.' She rose. 'Follow me. I have a proposal.'

Adina nodded for Gredak to follow her to her private chambers. He did so, his black shawl sweeping past McKay, leaving him, Boe and Coran. And apparently the guards.

Boe turned to Coran. 'How does he know? How does Adina? It does not make sense that we were so careful for so long and now when the newcomers arrive and we entrust with them our secret, they find out!' She said bitterly.

Coran smiled weakly. 'It does not matter how - they know.'

'Um, excuse me? We didn't say anything! I certainly didn't! Can you not see this face? The pain I'm in from trying to protect you people?' Rodney complained, raising a hand to stop his nose from bleeding.

Boe looked to the floor. Coran stared at the man. 'Thank you, for your part.' He said kindly.

Rodney shook his head. 'I wish I could have done more.'

Boe smiled weakly. 'You gave us hope, made us see a new life where we thought it could not be possible.'

'What's the point in dreaming of it when you can't live it?' Rodney stated.

Boe eyed him with a knowledge of pain. 'What is the point in living in _this_ world if you cannot dream of a better place?'

Rodney understood – sort of. He knew what she meant, he just wouldn't understand it on the level that she did. He was a practical man. They sat in silence for a few minutes, the guards leering over them. He looked up at his own and smiled slightly. She raised an eyebrow. Boe smiled at his attempt.

'I fail to see what pleases you.' Said a voice over Boe's shoulder. Boe did not turn.

'How are you Lissanda?' She asked lightly.

'I have been better.' The woman replied. A red head, tall, with strong arms. Her blue eyes stared down at Boe with loathing and pity – and almost regret.

'As have I.' Boe agreed.

'You could have stayed well if you abided our laws.' Lissanda scolded.

'And stay a farmer? Or anangry little girl with a stick? I have tasted love and I would not trade it for anything in this world or any other.' She snapped. Lissanda shoved the spear into her back and pushed Boe to the floor. Coran struggled hard.

'Would you stop with the violence?' Rodney complained.

'Do you wish for a spear in your back, shaman?' Lissanda growled.

'Apparently, I already have one thank you.' He indicated to the warrior behind him, and on queue, she shoved the point into the small of his back.

'Ow. Thank you, I know you're there, no needed to prick me with that thing. You know with your level of advancement, I would have thought you'd have swords by now.' He said condescendingly.

'What are swords?' The woman asked. McKay blinked.

'Oh nothing, I certainly wouldn't want to give you any ideas.' He muttered, just as Adina and Gredak came back into the room. He did not look happy and neither did she, apparently what had been settled meant that there were sacrifices on both sides. Boe narrowed her eyes.

'Bring them. All of my sisters must hear their punishments.' Adina said speedily, walking to the large doors and strolling outside.

The guards grabbed their prisoners and pushed them out for all to see.

'Gather! Gather and hear this, their sentences are decided!' Adina yelled. Women of all ages poured out of the doors, some curious and others timid. They surrounded Adina and the group once they had reached the two stakes with Carson and Ronan hanging from them.

Carson nodded at Rodney.

Ronan narrowed his eyes. 'McKay.'

Rodney looked up, clearly in pain form one injury or another. 'Ronan. Carson.'

'What's going on?' Carson asked.

'They're being sentenced for being in love.' Rodney replied simply. Adina glared.

'They are not the only ones to be sentenced.' She growled. Rodney frowned.

'What?' He squeaked indignantly.

Adina turned her attention back to the crowd as Boe, Coran and McKay where made to kneel before her and Gredak. He smiled at them cruelly.

John and Teyla watched from the trees, anxiously awaiting their sentences, and what they would be able to do to free them.

'These traitors you see before you have been sentenced by myself and Gredak. Their crimes are of interaction, secrecy and selfish purpose – they would have war between our people.' She looked at Gredak. 'Our sister, Boe, will remain here and she will not be executed.' There was a murmur in the crowd. 'Boe has always hated tradition and her ties with this one-' She glared at Coran. '-are strong. Her punishment stands at torture and the forced involvement in the Kredan, after that night, she will be made to serve in the fields for the rest of her life.'

Teyla felt John tense at her side. She looked over and saw the anger in his face. Rodney glared up at Ronan and Carson.

'How merciful of you.' He seethed. Adina ignored him.

'Coran, the Dryad, is to be taken by his people to his home where he will be executed at Dawn.' Boe's eyes filled with tears which fell sharply, she clamped her eyes shut and then looked at him. He looked back with a strength that made her heart hurt. 'Gredak has demanded this. In return, for giving Boe a second chance, I have agreed to release one of the newcomers into his care to compensate for the loss of one of his own.'

Rodney's eyes went wide and his head snapped up to his friends, both looking at each other with weary and angry eyes.

'The two that remain will be made to hang to the stakes with no food or water, until death, for their parts in this atrocity.' She said firmly.

'That's hardly fair!' Carson yelled.

'Your whole legal system is backwards, your whole people are backwards and I cannot wait for my people to get back here and introduce you to something I like to call – an ass kicking!' McKay screeched.

'Believe me; I eagerly await Sheppard's return.' Adina snapped. 'For the moment we set eyes on him, he will be killed.'

'You'll be lucky.' Ronan said low, chuckling at the thought.

Adina turned to him. 'Speak your mind Dex.' She barked.

'He'll beat you.' Ronan stated. 'He'll free us, and prove that you are an inadequate race.' He grinned with malice. Adina growled at him.

'Be silent or I will have you killed.' She snarled.

'Then kill me now or suffer my degrading opinion of you.' He growled in return.

Adina raised her hand, the guards lifting their spears.

'Hold.' Gredak commanded.

'Why?' Adina rounded on him.

'I choose him to replace Coran.' Gredak walked forward. 'This one is far too soft.' He slapped the back of McKay's head.

'I am not soft!' He snapped, glaring up at the leader of the Dryads.

'And this one knows only of medicine, he will be useless in a fight.' He turned to Adina.

'Aye, unless some of your men get injured, and then all of a sudden I'm a peach.' Carson snapped.

'Dex has the spirit of a Dryad.' He looked up at the Satedan. 'He will serve us well.'

'The moment you cut me down, you're dead.' Ronan snarled, his wrists working against his bonds. Gredak laughed heartily.

'Perfect!' His eyes were fixed on Adina. She nodded.

'Take your traitor and take Dex. Tie McKay next to Beckett, and prepare Boe for her first punishment before she attends the Kredan – torture.' She did not look at Boe as she swept past back to the meeting hall.

Gredak nodded for them to leave. They dragged Coran away; he struggled violently, his eyes on Boe the entire time.

'No! Please! Give us a moment! That is all I ask! No!' Boe yelled, being held back by her own people.

'Boe!' Coran yelled, before getting a nasty blow to the head and falling limp.

'Coran!' She shrieked. 'Coran! No!' The guards took her to a nearby building, kicking and screaming for her lost love the entire way.

One of the Dryads set a ladder to the back of Ronan's stake so he couldn't reach him with his legs, although he tried. The man brought out a large mallet used for fencing by the Sussearans and Carson yelled. The man thwacked Ronan over the head – hard. He fell limp, bleeding heavily. Carson struggled and Rodney stumbled over, getting kicked and beaten by his guard. The man released Ronan's bonds and let him fall to the ground, a bloodied mess. They took him away, trailing after Coran. Gredak sneered at them and left swiftly. Rodney growled his frustration.

'Coward! You wouldn't want to face him when he was conscious!' He yelled after him. Gredak did not respond. Rodney was suddenly grabbed from behind and shoved toward the empty stake.

John and Teyla watched as the women hoisted McKay up the stake and tied him to it. They watched the pain play across his face as he was tied. John gritted his teeth.

'This is not good.' He muttered.

Rodney breathed hard, glancing at Carson. 'This is so not good.'

Carson raised an eyebrow. 'No kidding.'


	7. Choices

Chapter 7 – 

Choices.

Ronan woke in pain, just as he had done before. Except before, he had been tied to a pole. Now he could feel himself moving. His eyes flickered open, the light of the day hurting, burning him. He tried to raise a hand to shield his eyes, but found that it was bound to something. He pried his eyes open. He needed to know where he was – and how to escape.

The first thing he saw confused him. Blue, just a light blue, like water, but with no ripples. Then he saw a white shape and knew he was on his back looking up at the sky. It was early afternoon, at least he knew that.

He tried to lift his legs, but found they were bound together as well. This was certainly a fun situation, and the headache was making it a laugh riot.

Ronan craned his neck up to see where he was, his head pounding ferociously. There were two men behind him wearing the uniform that Gredak had worn. Metal armour and black shawl. They did not look at him. He tried to look behind him, but found that they had strapped him onto a two wheel cart meant for transporting prisoners. He could not see who pulled the cart or who he needed to hurt the most. Gredak was undoubtedly leading them.

Ronan struggled against his bonds, anger firing in the pit of his stomach, pumping through his veins. He had been prisoner long enough today.

'I wouldn't do that.' One of the men said.

Ronan ignored him and kept on. The man smiled.

They travelled for maybe another four hours, and Ronan tried on and off to get through the ropes, but they were tied too tightly. He could see from his own chaffed wrists that the ropes hadn't moved under his strength.

From his view, all he saw was heads and the tops of stone buildings. It struck him odd that the Sussearans were using wood resources and the Dryads that of stone and metal, but then he got the impression that the Dryads had once enslaved their women before they broke free to live their own lives. He smiled bitterly, only to live it with impossible laws that a human being would know was not freedom.

The cart came to an abrupt halt and was upended, forcing the blood to rush to his head. The pressure was agonising. He could barely see the ankles moving in front of his eyes. He did however feel the binds of his legs and hands being undone. Someone hoisted him up with the belief that he was too weak to stand. These people obviously didn't know Ronan.

Ronan pushed him away forcefully while he got to his feet. His head may hurt and his stomach from previous injuries – but his legs were just fine. He could see that he was in a square compound surrounded by stone wall and a large wooden gate in the front, the village just beyond. Everyone in this part wore a uniform, and several of them advanced on Ronan. He grinned. God he needed to hurt something right now.

He dodged the first man's attack and brought his fists up to place two powerful blows, kicking his chest and pushing off to flip back and kick another man in the face. Ronan danced on the balls of his feet before grinning at his opponents. He was faster than them, better trained, years of running and fighting the Wraith had made him an animal, a force to be reckoned with. The men advanced once more and Ronan jumped into a roundhouse kick landing in a crouch with his leg extended to trip one man and grab the ankle of another, pulling mercilessly. The man fell hard and Ronan shot up with a masterful backhand to break the nose of his victim, swinging his fist round again to collide with another head. His hand drew back and opened as quick as lightening and clamped the man's hair, yanking it down to his knee with a sickening crack. A man from behind had grabbed a training staff from the wall and knocked Ronan in the back with it, sending him to his knees. The man he had put to the ground tried to kick him in the face, but Ronan grabbed his ankle and twisted, he flew face first to the ground. Ronan brought his arm round to catch the staff aiming for him again and pulled it, the man stumbled forward and Ronan shoved the staff back, clonking the man in the nose. He planted the staff in the ground and pushed off, his legs in the air and kicking back two of the men surrounding him; he brought the staff round as he landed, ready for more.

'That's enough!' Gredak stepped forward. The men stumbled back, bloodied and broken. Gredak grinned. 'Very good.'

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

John turned to Teyla. 'Let's go.' He began to move before Teyla yanked him down. 'What are you doing?'

'We cannot save Ronan!' Teyla whispered urgently. 'Not yet.'

John frowned. 'We can't let those bastards have him either.'

'We will retrieve him when we go for Coran, if we give away our position now, they will kill Carson and Rodney. Boe will have no hope, Ronan will not be saved, and we will also be captured.' Teyla said firmly.

'Alright, alright. Do you have to list the possibilities of bad things?' He scolded. He took a moment to think. 'Okay, so we need to make a few changes to the plan.'

Teyla nodded. 'I agree.'

'Rodney, Carson, Ronan, this is Weir, please respond.' His radio crackled. He looked to the villagers and deemed them too far to hear it. He was about to respond.

'Woman of the newcomers, I believe you are called Lizbeth.' Adina's voice sounded over the radio. 'I have your people as my prisoners for their crimes. Do not try to rescue them.' She snapped.

'How does she have access to our radio?' Teyla asked concernedly.

'She took our equipment when we arrived, never gave it back. Looks like she figured out how to use the radio.' John sighed.

Elizabeth took a moment, clearly surprised. But that didn't stop her from keeping a cool head. 'Adina, is it? Why have you held my people?'

'They have betrayed our trust and broken our highest laws. They will serve us for the rest of their natural lives.' Adina stated.

'Like hell.' John heard Rodney's voice on the other end. He looked into the square and saw Adina standing beneath Rodney and Carson, the radio to her mouth. Adina smacked his legs with a spear.

'Rodney?' Elizabeth queried. 'Let me speak to him.'

Adina paused a moment, holding the radio up and telling Mckay to say very little.

'Elizabeth!' Rodney called down.

'Rodney? I can barely hear you, are you alright?' She asked.

'Oh yeah, really comfortable, having the time of our lives.' Rodney said sarcastically.

'We both are.' Carson added.

Rodney glanced at Adina. 'Ronan's been taken by the Dryad's!' He yelled. Adina snatched the radio out of the air and scowled at him.

'Why would you do that?' Elizabeth demanded angrily.

'It was an agreement made by myself and Gredak, leader of the Dryads, in return for the execution of his traitor and the merciful second chance of my girl.' Adina informed.

Elizabeth realised that things had changed. 'My people did nothing to upset your laws. I suggest you let them go.'

'No.' Adina said spitefully. 'I want them to feel the pain they have caused us.'

'Perhaps we can negotiate.' Elizabeth suggested. 'There must be some item you want that we have.'

Adina paused. 'Your weapons are of great interest to us. Send Sheppard to negotiate.'

Elizabeth suddenly realised that Sheppard had not yet been discovered. And she wanted to keep it that way. 'I'm afraid Colonel Sheppard is unavailable at the present time, I can however send one of his team mates. Her name is Teyla.' Elizabeth knew that they were listening in. Teyla looked up at John. 'She is a wise and fair friend; she will negotiate the release of our people.'

'She will, will she?' John muttered. 'That changes the plan drastically.'

'Yes.' Teyla nodded, looking to the village and seeing Adina pacing below her friends.

'Very well, I will send for someone to escort her from the ring of the ancestors.' Adina switched off the radio and walked back to her chambers.

John switched the radio on and off in a pattern.

'Understood.' Elizabeth said, and the radio fell silent. John nodded. At least she knew they had heard.

'Okay, so you go and negotiate to free Rodney and Carson while I concentrate on Ronan, Coran and Boe.' John stated. Teyla nodded.

'You will have to devise a new plan.' She prodded, a questioning tone creeping into her voice.

'Boe was telling me a few details about the Kredan, I think I have an idea, but I need to leave for the Dryad village now or I won't make it.' He told her.

She nodded. 'Good luck.'

He smiled. 'Ditto.'

They separated.

'So, how in the hell is that classified as a sport? You just run around beating people up!' Rodney said incredulously.

Carson rolled his eyes. 'It's a very big sport Rodney, and although it's very physical, it's also extremely patriotic.'

'So is football, except we wear helmets and shoulder pads.' Rodney argued.

'Rugby is a real sport where helmets and shoulder pads only get in the way of scoring a try.' Carson paused. 'And let's be fair, it's more of a mans game than your American Football – at least we're not so wussy that we need padding.'

Rodney's eyes narrowed. 'It is not wussy, Carson, it is safety. And I've seen your guy's ears after those barbaric matches!'

'Sacrificing appearance for the love of the game, a true sportsman.' Carson smiled.

'A true psycho.' Rodney snapped.

'Can we not talk about it anymore?' Carson growled.

'Well what do you want to talk about?' Rodney asked poutily.

'Nothing. I prefer silence, thank you.' Carson replied testily.

Rodney fell silent for a few moments before looking to the ground. 'Look, at least one of us has to talk, and if you're not going to then I am. Anything to keep from feeling the pain in my arms, the gnawing ache of hunger…and the anxiety from being so high up.'

'It's not that high, Rodney.' Carson sighed.

'Well, if we were to fall, I could still sprain my ankle, and then I wouldn't be very good at the running away from flying arrows, would I?' Rodney reasoned.

'You're not good at it anyway.' Carson muttered.

'Excuse me? What was that? A snide comment that Carson Beckett is supposed to be above? Let's hear it!' Rodney prodded, pulling at the binds to lean toward the Doctor.

'Alright you great fairy! You're a slow runner! The other morning I was half dragging Ronan and half dragging you because of the invisible lead weights strapped to your ankles!' Carson bellowed at him. Rodney's eyes were wide with fury.

'Fairy? Seriously?' He sneered. 'I am a very fast runner! Especially when it involves my need to survive. And are we forgetting the tonne of bricks who is supposed to pass as a human that I had to carry – that we had to carry?'

'Ronan barely needed our help-'

'Enough to make us both slow down-'

'I was faster than you, you overgrown sloth.' Carson snarled.

'Alright, as soon as we get back to Atlantis, we are racing! East Pier! No witnesses.' Rodney shouted.

'Afraid that someone'll see me beat you, Mckay?'

'Don't be ridiculous, I just don't want anyone to see you cry when I cross the finish line with a massively triumphant look on my face.'

'You'll never make the finish line if I push you over the edge for a little swim…' Carson growled.

'Then you would be a cheater-'

'I'd be doing the world a favour.' Carson stated.

'What is that supposed to mean? There wouldn't be a world if I hadn't summoned the courage and amazing knowledge in order to save it a couple hundred times-!'

'Excuse me, would you mind knocking this big girl out?' Carson said to a woman passing by. Rodney scowled at him and started complaining again. 'On second thoughts, would you knock me out?' He called after her.

'Don't be so melodramatic, Carson-'

'Be quiet.' Carson warned him.

'I will not be quiet, just because you say I should-'

'Do you want me to give you an enema during your next physical?' Carson threatened.

'You can't do that without my permissi-'

'Shut up Rodney!' Carson insisted.

'I will not shut up-!'

'No! Look!' Carson nodded forward and Rodney followed his gaze.

Teyla was entering the village, walking in front of two Sussearans with spears. She spotted them and immediately made a path.

'Teyla.' Carson smiled. She smiled back.

'Are you alright?' She asked.

'We're tied to stakes.' Rodney stated. 'What do you think the answer is?'

'We're fine. What are you doing here? Where's Colonel Sheppard?' Carson asked quickly.

'I am here to negotiate your release, John is on Atlantis, he has been sent on another mission.' Rodney saw her eyes move in the direction of the guards behind and knew that wasn't exactly true.

'Good.' He nodded. She smiled bravely at them.

'Do not worry; I will do everything I can to set you free.' The guards prodded her in the back and she was taken to the meeting hall.

'Couldn't hurry, could you?' Rodney called, stretching his back against the pain.

Carson shook his head.

'What?' Rodney snapped.

'Nothing.' Carson stated, looking away. He muttered something that Rodney couldn't hear.

'If you're going to say something, say it, don't whisper because I can't hear.' Rodney scolded him.

'Oh, shut up, Rodney.' Carson said tiredly.

Rodney had a comeback, he was ready to fight. But he couldn't find the strength with the Sun glaring down on them.

Ronan had finally been overpowered and beaten to a pulp, being dragged along corridors with an earthy smell. There was no light, that he could see, but then he couldn't see much. He wasn't even sure if he was awake. He remembered hearing the sound of metal screeching and squeaking before he was thrown onto the ground, the metal sounded again. He carefully turned onto his back looking up to a stone ceiling. He preferred the sky.

'Gredak has seen you fight.' A voice said from the corner. 'As have I. You are well trained Ronan, you will make an excellent Dryad warrior.'

Ronan opened an eye to the stranger in the corner and shut them in frustration. 'I have no intention of joining them.' He growled.

Coran smiled. 'The alternative is death.'

'I have no intention of dieing either.' He crawled to a wall and sat with his back to it. He looked Coran over; he seemed to be in pretty bad shape too. But Ronan's hands were free, and Coran's were chained, his feet also chained. There was a small window above where he could hear the sounds of battle – training.

'I am sorry for my part in your capture.' The Dryad stated, his head settled on the cold wall behind him. Ronan glared at him, blaming him for every step of it, but knew it was not his fault. He hated being cooped up like this.

'Not your fault.' He paused. 'How did he know?'

Coran looked at him with blue eyes burning with guilt and hatred, and worry for Boe. 'He said he had known of my going to Boe for a long time, and that I had been chosen to partake in the next Kredan. His says that he must kill me now to protect me from joining with another that is not my love. He says he allowed me my freedom to see Boe until it became too dangerous – Gredak knows that a war with the Sussearans would be devastating for both sides.' Coran explained.

Ronan raised an eyebrow. 'Why not live together. Times have changed and your people haven't been fighting with each other.' Ronan asked.

Coran smiled bitterly. 'It is not our place to choose, although many have been open to the idea for generations. Gredak believes it would make us weak, and Adina is still clinging to the old ways.'

Ronan smiled slightly. 'Sounds like you need some new leaders.' He suggested.

Coran grinned and nodded. 'Many have been open to that idea for the last generation as well.'

They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the men outside fighting each other. The floor was hard and the wall was cold – he hurt everywhere and yet mostly what he felt, what he always felt, was anger and impatience. He needed to know more.

'Was it worth it?' He asked simply, his head turning to the Dryad.

Coran stared straight ahead, eyes unblinking. 'Every second.' He whispered.

Ronan nodded and stood – painfully.

Coran frowned. 'What are you doing?'

Ronan headed for the metal bars. 'Getting out of here.'

'There is no way through the bars.' He stated.

'I'm not going to sit there and do nothing.' Ronan said with determination. Coran allowed him to try. 'We need to get out of here.' He turned to Coran.

'I am doomed to die.' He stated. 'I must accept my fate.'

'Well that would be an awful shame considering that I've come all this way to get you out of here.'

Ronan and Coran looked outside the bars and saw John peering in with a grin.

Ronan leaned against them. 'Took you long enough.' He scolded.

'I'm sorry dear, but there was the issue of not knowing what to wear. I only wanted to make you happy.' Sheppard joked, glancing down the corridor. Ronan looked down at his dress and noticed that he was wearing the Dryad uniform with a helmet that obscured half of his face.

'Nice.' Ronan commented. 'Can you get us out?'

Sheppard looked at him. 'I feel so unappreciated.' Ronan glared. 'No. You've got to wait a while.'

'Why?' Ronan sighed.

'Because there's a carefully constructed plan in place to free you guys, Boe, Mckay and Carson and also not to start a war, here.' Sheppard explained.

Coran shuffled forward in his chains, the hope of escape for him and Boe drawing him. 'How?'

'Well, I'll tell you about it some other time.' He pulled something out of his pocket and handed them to Ronan. 'Hide these and make sure you have them on you at all times, okay?'

Ronan took them and frowned. They looked remarkably like pebbles, but were obviously technology of some sort. God he hated that. Why couldn't he just blow open the cell and hand him his gun?

'What are they?' He asked.

'Tickets to freedom. Make sure they're not found and never take them off.' He glanced down the passage, hearing voices. 'I have to go and save Boe now, but I'll see you guys in a few hours.' He smiled and began walking away.

'Sheppard!' Coran called. He paused. 'Thank you.' Sheppard nodded and walked swiftly.

'Sheppard!' Ronan whispered loudly, scowling at the man as he left. He turned to Coran with frustration.

'What are they?' Coran asked, inspecting one of them as Ronan chucked it to him.

'Dunno.' Ronan said jadedly.

Rodney and Carson were flung to the ground, their knees smarting from the impact. The poles had not be taken from their backs and their arms were still wound around them. Teyla frowned at their harsh treatment, casting a livid eyebrow at Adina.

She stood before her throne, Adina looking her up and down, as though trying to figure out what she was made of.

'Make your demands.' Teyla stated.

Adina smiled. 'If you would like to get straight to business, we shall-'

'Why else would I be here?' Teyla did her best to control the anger in her heart, but knew that it showed on her face and in her tone.

Adina nodded. She liked this woman. 'Your weapons for your people.'

'No.' Teyla stated.

'No?' Rodney said incredulously. 'Just no? Any reasons why we're worth less than a murderous piece of metal?' Carson elbowed him and Rodney glared.

'Your leader sent you knowing that this is what I would ask for.' Adina stated, the smile gone.

'And I have deemed your people unable to handle them.' Teyla stated sternly. Adina narrowed her eyes. 'Our weapons are far more advanced and would undoubtedly annihilate the Dryads if you were to go to war, and for that reason alone, we cannot permit you to have them.' Teyla paused. 'There is also the fact that they would become useless to you when the ammo is spent as you clearly have not mastered metal to manufacture more.'

'We have mastered stone and wood.' Adina snapped.

'Flint chippings on the end of a staff are not an indicators of higher intelligence.' Teyla shot back.

Adina flew from her chair, grabbing the spear held by her guard and attacked Teyla, swiping at her head. Teyla ducked and stepped back from the next swipe at her midsection. Adina jabbed it at her and Teyla blocked with her wrist, turning her wrist and grabbing the spear and pulling Adina forward to deliver a kick to her stomach and with the same foot, kicked her jaw. Adina stumbled back and Teyla spun the spear into an out ward position, leaving one of her hands free to use if she attacked again. She assumed a fighter's stance and stood ready.

Carson and Rodney watched on, gaping.

'Is this how negotiations work?' Carson gawked.

'Usually.' Rodney said sourly.

'Like you've been in any negotiations, Rodney.' Carson snarled.

'I'm usually the one they are negotiating for.' He snapped.

'That sounds about right.' Carson commented, turning his attention back to the fight. Two leaders on separate sides of the room. Round one to the Athosian.

Adina turned, nursing her jaw. She laughed. 'You were born to be a Sussearan! Just on a different planet.' She sat in her throne and Teyla lowered the spear.

'Don't do that! You had her on the ropes!' Rodney urged.

Teyla gave him a disapproving look. Carson gave him the same.

'What? I want a bath some time today, not to mention a hot meal and some water.' He groaned.

Teyla walked forward, placing the spear on the floor.

'You have impressed me Teyla, but I must ask, are you one of them?' She nodded to the two men.

Teyla shook her head. 'I am Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Tagan, and leader of the Athosian people.'

Adina nodded. 'Yes, I had sensed that you were stronger than they.'

Rodney scowled.

'I have not heard of the Athosian tribe, tell me of them.' She insisted.

'They are a strong and proud people; they live in harmony, man and woman, when the Wraith do not interfere. I joined with these a few years ago to fight the Wraith.' Teyla told her firmly.

Adina paused. 'Man and woman.'

'Yes, just as these live.' She smiled at Mckay and Carson.

'And where does Dex fit into this? He is not one of them, this is very clear.' Adina queried.

Teyla ground her teeth. 'He also joined us when we found him, a Runner from the Wraith after his world had been destroyed.' She was beginning to lose patience with this purposeless questioning.

'The Wraith come here from time to time, but the forest is vast and they find very little. The Dryads are more of a worry to us.' Adina informed her.

'Why do you ask these questions?' Teyla snapped.

'To know more. Is it not wise to know who you are negotiating with?' She asked rhetorically.

'If you truly did then you would let them go. We have no quarrel with you, but travelling to this world was not meant to be a hindrance to our mission.' She paused. 'To defeat the Wraith.'

Adina listened. 'As a leader talking with another leader, I will give you this.' She looked to the two men. 'Choose one to take back to your world, and leave the other. When you are ready to give us those weapons, you may return and we will release the other. But I suggest you hurry. Starvation can be a quick creature.' She leant back in her throne.

Teyla gaped at the two men before her, both not knowing what to do.

Rodney and Carson waited.


	8. The Man in Red

Chapter 8 –

The Man in Red.

'Well, I think you made the right choice.' He smiled, rubbing his hands and rolling his shoulders. They ached so much, he almost felt sorry about leaving his friend behind. Almost. But the idea of a hot meal and a gallon of water was too tempting at this moment in time to even dwell on a moment's guilt.

Teyla rolled her eyes and walked swiftly out of the village, hating herself every step of the way.

'I am more valuable in a fix, not to mention the fact that I'm valuable everywhere and a really nice guy, plus I'm one of your team mates so-'

'Rodney!' Teyla snapped, rounding on him. 'I will return for Carson later. There was a reason that I chose you and it is nothing to do with favouritism.' She explained tersely, marching down the path and leaving McKay to gape for a moment.

'Aha! But!' He jogged after her. 'It is something to do with the fact that my scientific knowledge is invaluable, yes?' He chirped.

'It is true that the reason concerns your knowledge, Rodney, but it is also true that I believe Carson has stronger arms than you.' Teyla admitted.

Rodney glared at her. 'Carson does not have stronger arms than me! I work out – with weights – oh yes – Sheppard has in fact been training me to…lift heavy items with my manly arms, and let me tell you that I can bench press an impressive amount-' He boasted.

'How much?' Teyla asked. McKay paused.

'How much what?' He frowned, looking at her with a suspicious eye.

'How much weight can you lift?' She pushed, an evil smile on her face.

McKay shrugged. 'A lot.'

Teyla nodded and picked up the pace, a look of utter disbelief on her face.

'Okay, so not as much as Sheppard or Ronan – or Radik – but I'm working on it! And Carson doesn't even push weights!' Rodney complained.

'Rodney.' Teyla breathed, pausing. 'I am most agitated at the moment and require for you to be silent so that I may work out a way to save Carson.' She raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded reluctantly. 'Now there is a plan of sorts in place, and it requires your help.'

Rodney nodded with a smile, pointing at himself. 'Invaluable.'

Teyla glared.

John crept. He was good at that, plus the hefty uniform let him get away with literally just walking through the village with as much swagger as he liked. Which is exactly what he was doing.

He had followed a large group of the uniformed men inside the stone complex and into a courtyard. They gathered at a pedestal in the centre where Gredak stood, laughing with two of his men standing in front of the crowd. John hated that guy. He didn't know him; he just knew that he hated him, which in his books was good enough. His gut was rarely ever wrong, and right now it was bellowing at him to shoot Gredak, empty a clip and reload. Of course, his stomach could also be complaining of starvation, he had only managed to grab a poxy apple on his way back to the planet with Boe.

He joined them, all of them laughing and joking. One tall man with a deep booming voice slapped Sheppard on the back and made him stumble.

'Lucky men, those! I can't remember the last time I was chosen for the Kredan! Maybe today will be my day once more!' He chuckled.

John nodded, smiling. 'Right.' He looked to the front, figuring out that this was some sort of selection process for the Kredan. The men who would get lucky. 'Just two?'

'Two down and two to go. There are four women due this year.' He smiled, nudging him in the ribs. 'Maybe you'll get chosen, eh? You're a young one; they prefer those that are young.' He stood tall slapping his hands on his breastplate. 'Personally I thought they would have been more open to a man with experience than a younger face, but then it is known that women are a mystery.'

John laughed slightly. 'You're not wrong.' The man gave a large appreciative laugh.

'Shame about Coran though, mh? He had been chosen for his performance in Golan's force, a fine hunter, and a poor choice he made. Now he must sit in a cell waiting for morning and his position as chosen one is passed to the next best warrior.' The man craned his neck to get a look at the large crowd. 'There are many here today from different sects. It seems the Sergeants have brought their teams together to make sure they get their chance!' He smiled widely. 'I see Golan's men, Kitaka's, even Mezdin's! Interesting.' He nudged John in the ribs again and pointed to a man a little further on who wore a beautifully crafted helmet which covered his cheeks and nose, but left his eyes for all to see. His uniform was a deep red with some sort of thin sheet of armour. He was not cheering with the rest of them. John noticed that there were others like him, but they were few. 'Furion sect.' He whispered, grinning. 'Fierce warriors – and rarely home for more than three days in a year! I'll bet you haven't seen many of them, boy!' He bellowed.

'No. I haven't.' John watched the man in red. A plan forming.

And as if a higher power had heard his thoughts, the man gave the crowd a disgusted look and walked away. John cheered with the tall man for only a second longer before slipping away and following him.

Gredak held up his hands and the crowd fell silent almost immediately.

'Brothers! The Kredan approaches!'

The crowd cheered. Gredak smiled and nodded for them to shush.

'Here we have two of the finest warriors to fight in our army, Herris of Faldon and Gregan of Demenya.' The men nodded to the crowd as they whooped their respect. 'But only two for the four women awaiting. My brothers, I call for a choosing ceremony-'

The crowd erupted again. Gredak smiled widely.

'I have need for only two, and the ceremony is as it has always been! Each man who volunteers will fight for the right to partake in the Kredan.' He shouted, gearing them up for a fight. 'And as you know, as every year we do this, the fighting is fierce and terrible. Every man here knows why.' He smiled slyly. 'For those who will fight, step to the right of the courtyard, and those who wish to watch their brothers beaten, step to the left.' The men cheered, the majority flocking to the left, a mere seven striding to the right. Gredak smiled, stepping down from the pedestal and approaching the left of the courtyard.

'Good.' He smiled, walking down the line and stopping at the end, frowning. 'You! Name and sect.'

The man smiled. 'Bond…John Bond.' He paused. 'Furion sect.'

Well, he wanted to be noticed, and the looks he was getting now – he felt noticed. The Furion's armour was far more comfortable than the standard army gear, and the man hadn't put up that much of a fight. John had no idea where the Kredan took place and what the usual procedure was. Playing this game was his best bet of getting to Boe. He just hoped his fighting skills were up to the challenge.

Gredak nodded with a smile. 'I did not know that the Furion sect was interested in the Kredan, they always seem so – celibate.'

John thought quickly. 'Well, my interest was piqued. I'm not afraid of anything my men encounter, and yet I haven't met with a woman. I treat it as a new venture.' He smiled.

Gredak nodded approvingly. 'I have heard of the Furion fighting skill, and seen it in battle. I look forward to your chance.' He nodded and John bowed his head respectfully, suddenly believing this to be a bad idea. 'Follow! And let the blood run for a woman's touch…'

The men cheered, following Gredak, the two chosen and the seven volunteers to the compound in front of the building. The crowds lined the walls and the volunteers stood to one side. From what John could see, it was a training arena. The ground was sand with a large white box in the centre. One of the walls was lined with numerous weapons, many he didn't have a name for. Gredak raised his hands for silence and the men stopped their chatting.

'Today, you will face a worthy opponent.' He said to the volunteers, his hand going to the door on the far side as a man was brought out and thrust to his knees. 'Dex.' Ronan glared up at them with malice while John stared.

'I can't bloody believe it!' Carson wailed. 'She chose that whiny, pathetic, fraidy-cat…donkey! Over me!'

Adina nodded. 'Yes. I was also surprised that she made the choice. And so quickly.'

'Well, thank you your highness for making me feel better, I'm sure that comments like that will succeed in making me even louder with anger, confusion and bloody astonishment!' He snapped. 'I mean, bugger it! I'm stumped! How could she leave me here?' He paused, scowling. 'And choose Rodney?'

Adina grinned at him. The man was most amusing, even with a pole strapped to his arms.

'I mean, I'm a Doctor! A good person and bloody better friend that Rodney ever was! He'd sell out his own mother for a bloody iced cupcake that little pastry snuffling bastard! The amounts of times I've nabbed the last cinnamon bun and had Rodney sneak it from my plate when I wasn't looking…' He muttered.

Adina had no idea what he was saying but she laughed. He glared reproachfully at her.

'This isn't funny, missy! I'm sore and I'm starving, and apparently, I'm staying for a little longer – and I have absolutely no problem treading on your hospitality. And that's all it's going to be! I'm not staying for more than a day! Knowing Teyla, she's got the cavalry geared up and ready to break me out!' He insisted.

Adina admired his hope and courage, and admitted to herself that it was a shame their people could never be friends. But that was the way it had to be. She leant forward.

'You are a good Shaman?' She asked.

Carson blinked. 'Excuse me?'

'You heal efficiently?'

'Well I wouldn't have gotten the job if I were mediocre, love.' He snarled.

She nodded to her guard. The woman walked over to him and Carson winced, expecting a clonk on the head, instead his arms fell to his side and the pole fell to the ground. Carson shouted in pain at the sudden release, the blood rushing through his arms.

Adina stood and walked to the back of her throne, producing a blue bag. Carson knew it was his.

'This is yours. We can make no sense of it.' She plonked it in front of him.

'They're my medical supplies.' He breathed, just thinking that he could use with a strong painkiller.

'Your services are needed, Beckett.' She walked to her private quarters. 'She will need you in half an hour. They should be done by then.' She left the room.

Carson looked up, frowning. 'Who should be done with what?' He stood, rolling his arms and dragging his bag to the throne. He plonked himself down on it and the guards gaped. He gave them an irritated look.

'It's not like she's using it at the moment.'

Rodney closed his eyes, breathing through the impatience.

'If we could just reprogram the system Rodney, it might work but not if we-' Radik began.

'Thank you, Zalenka, but reprogramming the whole system would take too long, and from what I can see, we don't have an eternity to make this work. Of course, I could be wrong, I mean how am I supposed to read my watch or program anything with an empty stomach and sleep depravation making me see double and feel dizzy?' He snapped.

Radik sighed frustratedly and threw the man a power bar.

'Thank you.' Rodney said ungratefully, slipping the wrapper open and shoving the bar into his mouth. Radik glared.

Teyla shook her head, closing her eyes and willing away the tired ness. She sat, unable to help; her presence was only for moral support.

Elizabeth walked into the Jumper Bay, arms folded and eyes searching the scientists. 'How's it going?' She asked, frowning at the machine in the centre of the Jumper. She glanced at Teyla who gave her an eyebrow.

'Slowly.' Mckay said loudly. 'Since the Daedulus won't be here for another fortnight, we've had to start from scratch, and let me tell you, building one of these things is not easy.' He said, his face full of concentration. 'Especially with Radik throwing ridiculous ideas at me.'

'It was not ridiculous Rodney, it was perfectly valid. We're having problems extending the field-' He argued.

'I know what's wrong and I am fixing it, so hush up and get to work.' Rodney snapped. Radik glared at his back before tapping hard on an Ancient pad.

Elizabeth frowned at him but knew that he was just trying to get it done, and interruptions weren't helping. 'What can I do?'

'Not talk.' Rodney said harshly, and then paused, turning to her with a slightly childish innocence. 'And get me a sandwich?'

Elizabeth glared and Rodney smiled sheepishly.

He could feel the volunteers unease as they stood next to him, and he didn't blame them. Kneeling, Ronan was pretty intimidating, standing was enough to make the bravest man wet himself and weep like a baby before creating a man shaped hole through the most solid metal door as he ran for the hills. And what was worse is that they didn't know the half of it. They had never seen him fight before – he had. Luckily, Ronan was on his side. John breathed for a moment. This might just work.

'He is to replace Coran and join the Dryads. He is a formidable warrior, and so, I believe that the man who can fight him for the longest shall win the right to be chosen. If you can defeat him, I shall buy you a pint of the finest mead.' The men laughed loudly, the volunteers even more so through their nerves. John raised his eyebrows at them. The fact that these guys hadn't backed out yet was sign enough that they were brave. Or desperate for a little love…

All John had to do now was let Ronan know it was him without the Dryads realising that he wasn't one of their own. And before Ronan ripped him to shreds, as the look in his eyes promised just that.

'The rules are thus – no kills. Apart form that, any weapon may be chosen and any method of winning enforced.' Gredak smiled.

John wondered if Ronan knew that no killing was a rule. The hatred on his face looked murderous in itself.

Gredak turned to the volunteers. 'One man at a time, starting with the Furion.' He looked at John who stared wide eyed. Of course, he had to knock out the guy with the pretty red uniform. 'Choose your weapon, Bond.' Gredak opened an arm to the wall lined with lovely killing equipment.

John looked at them and then looked at Ronan, trying to catch his eye whilst making it look like he was sizing him up. Ronan didn't look at him. John hated that the man was so stubborn. He turned his attention back to the wall and headed almost immediately for the staff, plucking it from the wall, feeling its weight and then smashing it across his knee. It broke into two pieces, giving him fairly even shafts. He spun them in his hands. There were no other weapons like it on the wall. He hoped Ronan would notice them as the kind of weapons they used in training on Atlantis.

John walked over, making a wide circle between him and Ronan. The Satedan glared at him as the guards moved away. Ronan stood gingerly, his leg apparently hurt from previous beatings. John frowned as he started walking back and forth, his eyes never leaving him. How could he not see that it was Sheppard?

Suddenly Ronan stopped pacing and squinted, his eyes going from the shafts to the man's eyes under the helmet.

Afraid that he would accidentally give him away, Sheppard spoke.

'So are we gonna get this thing started, or what?'

Ronan raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, giving John an unimpressed look. He sighed and let his arms hang loosely, signalling for him to attack, almost bored of the battle already. 'Come on.'

John was put off momentarily. What? He wasn't worthy to fight him or something? Okay, so he couldn't kick Teyla's butt unless he was infected by a Wraith Bug, but he was learning. Plus he usually had a big ass gun, so hand to hand was rarely ever needed. Apart from today. John breathed, feeling slightly apprehensive. Then moved forward. He needed to make this look good – for Boe's sake.

Gredak watched with anticipation as the man in red glided forward with a grace of a warrior. Ronan watched.

John feinted left and Ronan fell for it, giving John the chance to dodge right and thrust the shafts into his abdomen, coming round to thwack his chest, then his head. He backed off as Ronan stumbled. The Satedan would never have let him get that far and John knew it, but the point was to make it look fast. Gredak knew Ronan was an amazing fighter, and so the objective was to kick his ass quickly without really pulling any fabulous moves but making it look otherwise, or else Gredak would suspect Ronan of holding back.

Ronan made it look like he had been dealt a truly painful blow, making him slower. He growled throwing a fist into the air as he stood; John deflected it and elbowed him in the ribs and face before kicking his stomach. Okay, so that was from his military training, but Gredak said that any means of winning was fine.

Ronan glared at Sheppard and not at the man he was pretending to be. Sheppard gave him a sheepish grin and knew that he was in trouble. Ronan straightened and advanced, Sheppard stepped back from the onslaught of blows, deflecting them, only just able to keep up with him. Ronan brought down a hard blow, exposing his shoulder, as Sheppard ducked he slid under his arm and brought the shafts down on his back whilst bringing his right leg into Ronan's face. The Satedan grunted and spun too quickly for Sheppard as he was turning for the next attack, hitting him square in the face. John fell to the ground.

Ronan stood over him smiling with cheek. John glared up at him in pain, giving him the "what the hell was that" look. Ronan shrugged slightly. John muttered under his breath as he used his hands to flip onto his feet, his shafts too far for him to recover. It had come to hand to hand. John scowled at him. This should be interesting.

'Ow.' Sheppard growled at him under his breath. Ronan pointed at his bloodied face.

'No kidding.' He said, unimpressed.

'Let's just finish this, okay?' John said, his helmet obscuring his mouth. He raised his fists.

Ronan's eyes obliged, but he did not raise his hands. John came forward jabbing hard and fast. Ronan ducked, stepping back quickly before bringing his own hands to play, deflecting the blows and placing a backhand on Sheppard's cheek. The Colonel spun and gave Ronan a back hand of his own before spinning again and executing a perfect roundhouse kick. Ronan flew back, hitting the ground. Losing no time, John jumped on him and turned him onto his front while he was dazed, grabbing his arm and thrusting it up behind his back. Ronan shouted.

'Sorry, buddy.' Sheppard struggled to say.

'You will be.' Ronan growled, elbowing him in the face. John fell to the floor by him and Ronan pinned him with his arms held above his head.

'What happened to the letting me win part?' John said testily.

Ronan grinned. 'You kicked me.'

'Oh.' John said and head butted him ferociously before bringing his now free hands clasped together to punch his abdomen. Winded and dizzy, Ronan lost his concentration and John used both legs to kick him back onto the ground. Ronan rolled for a moment trying to breathe while John stood over him, hoping that was it.

He smiled down. Ronan glared up at him and snarled, snapping his leg out to kick him in the crotch. The crowd made noises of pain for Sheppard as he dropped to his knees, clutching the tender area, his face showing the agony and anger. Ronan laughed once before trying to breathe again.

Feeling an impatience and a mass amount of pain, John wanted this to be over. 'Eye for an eye.' He said though clenched teeth, dropping onto his but and spinning round, both legs kicking at Ronan's crotch as he lay on the ground. The Satedan snapped up with a look of pain and surprise in his face.

John stood shakily and made his way to the front where Ronan breathed methodically through the agony. John glared down at him and gave him a sharp knee to the face, Ronan fell back, practically unconscious.

The crowd cheered as John turned, tired and in pain. He smiled weakly, feeling a sense of satisfaction. What had started as an impressively quick and skilled fight had turned into something of a bar brawl, but Gredak was clapping along with the rest, so John assumed that all was well.

'Well done, your reputation is intact and well deserved!' He patted John on the back. God he wished he wouldn't – no human contact until the swelling went down, or until he had a shower. 'Take a seat, chosen one, and we will wait for Dex to recover for his next opponent.'

John tenderly sat on a cold stone bench, thanking whatever force which made the stone as cold as ice to nurse his – areas - back to health.

John watched as Ronan stood, glaring at him. The next opponent walked on and grabbed a chain from the wall, advancing with confidence. Ronan grabbed his neck and threw him against the wall. He slid to the ground and did not wake.

John sighed. That would be him when they got back to Atlantis.

Carson was nodding off by the time Adina returned. She saw him on her throne, head resting against the back, gently snoring. She smiled and looked to the guards with a hint of reproach. They seemed nervous for a moment until she smiled at them, walking over to her throne. Adina leant down, her lips brushing his ear.

'Beckett.' She whispered. 'You are sitting in my throne.'

Carson stirred but did not wake. Adina nudged him gently, he still did not wake. 'Beckett, awaken.' She said louder.

Carson made a noise of annoyance and his head turned to the other side. Adina stood upright and grabbed the spear from her guard, thrusting the point at Carson's neck. Carson's eyes flew open and he sat straight in her throne, hands gripping the handles. He smiled nervously.

'Hello.' He breathed. 'How lovely to see you again. I just shut my eyes for a moment.' He paused, a hand raised and pointing at the throne he sat on. 'Shall I vacate your chair?'

Adina cocked her head with an intrigued eyebrow and lowered her spear. 'A man that can only be woken by the tip of a spear. Interesting.' She handed the shaft back to the guard and walked to the door. 'She will see you now.'

Carson jumped to his feet and grabbed his kit, worrying about the person he was supposed to see and why it had taken so long for them to come and fetch him. He entered her room and immediately stopped.

Boe was on her knees at the foot of a long wooden bed, hunched over, filthy and bleeding. She had been whipped mercilessly and he wondered how that was so because he hadn't heard her screaming and he had been in the next room. Carson dropped to his knees by her side.

He glared at Adina before he touched her, a look of true loathing. She had waltzed in and out of this room knowing full well what was taking place inside of it.

'The first part of her punishment is over.' Adina stated, hands behind her back. 'Treat her so that she may partake in the Kredan in a few hours time.' Adina commanded.

'There's no way this girl can lie on her back, not in this state.' Carson snapped, gently stripping away some of the cloth from her wounds.

'There are many positions in which a man may gain pleasure.' Adina said coldly. Carson scowled at her, his anger making his hands shake.

'I want this girl to have privacy while I treat her.' He stated. 'That means you get to leave.' He said firmly, an air of menace to his voice and in his eyes.

Adina gave one nod to the guard and they both left, Carson turned to Boe. He took her chin gently with his hand and pulled it toward him. She winced.

Carson looked at her face and saw that she had not only been whipped, but she had been brutally beaten. Her blue eyes focused on him slowly. There was a large cut on her nose and fore head, her lip was split, the rest was general bruising and scrapes. She realised who was holding her chin and smiled weakly.

'I did not scream.' She whispered. 'I promised myself that I would not.' A tear fell from her eye and made a clear path through the filth on her cheek, her face steadily scrunched up as the emotion of her beating finally came to the surface.

Carson let out a long breath and took her into his arms as she sobbed, holding her head and letting her weak body rest against his.

'We'll get you out of here, love. I promise.' Carson assured her, hating these people beyond anything he had known, and wanting nothing but happiness for this girl.

'Done. I think.' Rodney glanced back at Zalenka who shrugged.

Elizabeth nodded. 'You're sure?'

'No, not really, but we don't have time to go through it again, there's still things we need to do on the other side and we're already kinda late.' Rodney urged.

Elizabeth looked at them. The team comprised of Rodney, Zalenka, Teyla, Lorne and two other soldiers, all of whom were dressed to party. Their uniform carried all the necessities to wage a war. Really, all they needed was a small mistake and a war would break out all on its own. She turned back to Rodney with a resolve.

'Go.' She ordered. Lorne turned in his chair and brought the Jumper to life.

'Going.' He stated. Elizabeth walked off the ramp and back into the control room, ordering for the Gate to be dialled.

John yawned widely. They had been walking for a fair while, and the darkness had crept up on them. The stars shone brightly along side the two moons, giving them plenty of light to see the path. It would not be long until they reached the place of the Kredan, not long until he had to figure out what he was going to do in order to get to Boe.

Boe yelped in pain.

'Sorry lass, but I am working with the basics here.' Carson apologised, Boe nodded, wishing that he would just finish.

Carson had washed her face and put stitches in her nastier gashes. She had been reluctant to sew up her wounds but Carson convinced her that it was the typical practice on his world. He had cleansed her back as best he could; using surgical spirit had been the truly painful part. Tears had rolled down her cheeks at the burning agony; even his pain killing medicine had not stopped that. He was just finishing the last stitch to her back on one of the more horrendous gashes.

Boe had lain on her front on the bed, her head resting on his jacket as he healed her.

'There, almost done.' He reached into his bag and pulled out a long sheet of white material which he promptly and carefully attached to her back with a sturdy micro pore. 'Alright, now if I can just find…ah!' He crossed the room to where he saw a revealing 'v' neck top and short hide skirt. 'Let's get you into something clean. I'm sure her royal bitchiness won't mind.' He smiled mischievously.

She grinned weakly at his attempts to lighten her spirit, but she had seen the window and knew that darkness had fallen. The Kredan approached, and her mind spun.

Carson helped her into the clothes, or turned his back while she stepped into them. Her shyness at being seen by a man without her clothes on was even more so that the Kredan was only a little while away.

'Thank you, Carson. You truly are a skilled healer.' She took his hands and kissed them. Carson blushed.

'Oh it's nothing; I sort things out like this everyday.' He beamed at her, then paused. 'Now I have no idea where Sheppard is, but I know he's not off world, he'll be here; doing everything he can to help you.' Carson looked to the door. 'He's just a little late is all.'

Boe nodded. 'He is here, he came with Teyla. I do not know where he went or what he does, but I believe that it is possible he has gone for Ronan.'

'Mh, I thought that too.' He smiled. 'That just means that you'll have two large heroes to come save you, and two battle ready brutes are better than one-'

The door flew open and Adina strode in with four guards. Carson stood in front of Boe protectively.

'It is time. Is she ready?' Adina asked.

'No.' Carson stated. 'She still has some healing to do. I can't let her go until I'm satisfied that her wounds are not life threatening, you could have beaten her to death.'

'Then she would have been saved the displeasure of the Kredan.' Adina snapped, nodding for two of the guards to retrieve her. Carson stood his ground. Boe grabbed his arm as he tried to fend them off, but only succeeded in being knocked to the ground with the butt of a spear. Boe was dragged to the door.

'Carson!' She screamed, seeing the steady blow flow from his head. Adina looked at him for a moment before following her.

Carson got shakily to his feet and followed them outside. There were tall fire torches lit around the square and a group of Dryads stood in the centre, waiting. Carson wandered over to them, not overly sure of his feet.

Adina, a few guards and the four women turning twenty one, stood before them. Adina spoke.

'These are the women who have their twenty first year of living this summer, I ask that you take these girls and bring me women at Dawn.'

Gredak nodded.

Carson stumbled forward, seeing Boe still struggling against the guards.

'No!' He yelled, and punched one of the women squarely in the face. 'My Mother's gonna kill me.' He complained, ducking the other woman's blow and sticking his foot out to trip her up. Carson only saw the flutter of a red uniform and felt the ausum impact of a male fist, then felt the man's body push him to the ground, hands brushing his legs as they came up to his neck.

'Well done Furion.' Gredak patted the man in red on the back and turned his head to Adina.

'Why was he not tied to a stake as we had agreed?' Gredak snapped at her.

She glared at him coldly. 'He is a great shaman of medicine, I required his expertise.' She glanced at Boe. Gredak's face broke into a smile, a haunting expression in the light of the flames.

'The traitor – I admire you more and more Adina.' He nodded at her.

Adina gave him a look of pure loathing. 'You have seen our women and I have seen your men. They will be brought to the House shortly after they are dressed.'

Gredak nodded again, bowing. He walked down the path, his men in tow. Adina watched them go, the man in red glancing back to the village.

John had regretted punching Carson, but it had been the only way to stop him from ruining things and getting himself killed. He walked close to Gredak who was talking to another warrior.

'Tell me Herris, of which of those would you most like to bed tonight?' Gredak laughed.

'The blonde at the end sire, her eyes were drawn to me.' He smiled widely. Gredak gave another appreciative laugh and patted his shoulder. Herris paused. 'I cannot imagine to which Brother the traitor will be given.'

'Yes, he will have to fight to bed her, and then endure the screams of her agony as he has her.' Gredak smiled cruelly. Herris nodded, smiling also.

Men like that made John want to hurt something. A shame he would never get that chance to show Gredak how he truly felt. A shame that Ronan couldn't show Gredak how _he_ truly felt, John would be satisfied to sit and watch.

John quickened his pace and spoke, knowing that he could give everything away if he were not careful. 'Give the traitor to me.'

Gredak looked back at him with a slight surprise. 'Why would you want one so foul?' He asked.

'You said that she'd put up a fight, I'm in the mood for a feisty woman.' He said simply, looking into the Forest.

Gredak elbowed the man next to him and laughed. 'Spoken like a true Furion! You shall have this evil wench, John! And may her anger please you.'

It took all of John's strength not to break his neck for calling Boe a whore.

John looked to his right and saw they had been walking beside a large Lake, and across from it was truly a large and ancient wooden house, filled with light and curvy moving figures. He raised his eyebrows as them men behind him whispered excitedly. As they approached the house, two women walked down, one of coco skin. She smiled and spoke.

'The Kredan will take place shortly, first you must wait in the court yard.' She offered an arm and Gredak led the way, having been through this so many times.

Boe screamed in anguish, fighting them with all her might and main. Her back was in agony and still she struggled against them, her hair flying wildly as they forced her clothes off and pushed the dress over her head. A long white dress which seeped up the newly released blood.

John waited in the courtyard with the rest of the men milling about impatiently. He pondered these people's existence for a moment, to have to fight in order to have sex. And for women to have it only once, and for that one time to be the only time to have children, unless you were the leader. It was unimaginable.

A scream tore throughout the night and he knew it belonged to Boe. The women had been brought to the House. Gredak and Herris chuckled, staring at John, their eyes wishing him luck.

A woman walked into the courtyard and signalled for them to follow. Gredak and two of the Dryad guards remained behind. 'We will meet here at dawn.' He stated.

The four men were led up a flight of stairs, asked to whom they would be joined and then taken to the appropriate rooms one by one.

Boe could hear them walking in the corridor of this mad house. He would come, who ever he was, and she would fight him. But how? These men were so much bigger than she! The window was too small to climb out of and the door had been locked. There was a single bed in the room with a single candle, she marched over and blew it out. Moonight filtered in through the small window, and she stood by the door waiting for it to open.

The woman with coco skin led the last man in red uniform to the room on the end, pausing before unlocking the door. 'Boe is troubled and frightened, she has been gravely wounded. Adina does not worry for her, but she is my sister. Please be gentle.' She implored.

John nodded with as much sincerity as his eyes could muster. 'I will.'

The woman unlocked the door and opened it wide. Boe thrust her self out, banging into John's chest in her attempt to escape. He held her fast and grabbed her arms as they tried to claw at him, he struggled to push her back into the room, and as soon as they had cleared the door, the woman locked them in. John glared back with Boe screaming at him.

'Thanks!' He yelled. He turned his attention to the desperate woman in his arms. 'Boe! Stop!'

'No! You will not have me!' She growled, not only hating this man for not being Coran, but hating him because he had attacked Carson. The man in the red uniform.

'I'm not here to have you; I'm here to help you!' John insisted. Boe paused, stepping back, his voice familiar to her. John took the helmet off and revealed his handsome face, his brown eyes studying her broken one in the moonlight.

Her blue eyes filled with tears as she looked at him, her heart pounding against her chest. 'John.' She breathed.

She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him urgently on the mouth. John was startled at first before his hands found the small of her back and her neck, pulling Boe into a bruising kiss.


	9. Clever Ideas and Dirty Minds

Chapter 9 - Final Chapter

Clever Ideas and Dirty Minds

'How's it going?' Lorne jogged into the jumper, looking at them expectantly.

Rodney didn't look up and continued working; Radik nodded and gave Teyla a small smile.

'We're getting there.' He stated, moving around to the other side to reach one of the controls.

Teyla rolled her eyes and gave Lorne a tired look. He mirrored it. Teyla glanced at his hands, noticing the mess.

'You were successful?' She asked hopefully. The two soldiers walking up the ramp nodded with disgust, both of them heading straight for a water container and heading back outside to clean themselves.

Lorne laughed softly at their obvious disdain. 'The hardest of the hard.' He joked. 'Yeah, _we're_ done.' He said pointedly.

'Working on it!' Rodney snapped.

Lorne glared for a moment. 'How long?'

'Not long.' The scientist stated, snapping his fingers at Radik. Zalenka raised an unimpressed eyebrow and handed him the Ancient pad. Rodney snatched it, staring at the small screen before nodding slowly. 'Not long at all.'

'I'm looking for a time here, Doc, so I know whether or not to go to plan B.' Lorne urged.

'Look, we'll be done when we're done, there's no use in – we have a plan B?' He queried, looking up from the device.

'What's plan B?' Radik asked frowning.

'Actually, I was more highlighting the fact that he thinks plan A's gonna fail, but…' Rodney paused, noticing the exasperated look from Lorne and Teyla. '…yes, yes, yes, Plan B, what is it?'

Lorne sighed. 'Plan B, Mckay, involves storming the camp and retrieving Carson and Boe before heading over to the Dryad city to break out Ronan and Coran, we then break radio silence to locate Colonel Sheppard, and get the hell out of here.'

'Oh.' Rodney stared blankly. 'I think I prefer Plan A for its higher survival possibilities.' He commented.

'Mh.' Lorne nodded. 'Good, so finish the damn thing so we can have Plan A as our top option.'

Rodney scowled. 'You can't rush science, not when it is as complicated as this.'

'When our people's lives are at stake, I can.' Lorne said menacingly, grabbing the water container from one of the soldier's hands and heading out to do the same.

Rodney shook his head. 'He has no idea how hard this is.'

Teyla closed her eyes. 'It must be very difficult Rodney, but it is nothing that you cannot completer in time. I have seen you do many difficult things under pressure.'

Rodney preened slightly, glancing at Teyla out of the corner of his eye. 'Yes, I do on occasion produce the miraculous out of thin air when times get a little perilous.' He preened. Radik glared with a weary eye. Rodney's face fell. 'Right, back to the difficult task at hand.'

John's eyes flew open and he stared down at the woman kissing him. He tore his mouth from her and pushed her back, immediately noticing the shock on Boe's face.

They stared for a moment, the silence filling the dark room. John smiled at her with an awkward expression.

'Well, that was interesting.' He commented, watching her with uncertainty.

'Yes.' She breathed, and then paused. 'I am so sorry John, I was just…I was so…I thought that I would have to go through with it.' She whispered. 'I was so happy to see you.' She smiled nervously.

John nodded slowly. 'I could see that – and feel it.'

She clasped her hands together and looked back at her room. 'You have come to free me?' She asked with hope.

John nodded. 'We have a plan.' He smiled.

'Another?' She said critically.

John's smile fell. 'Yeah, a better one than before – okay, it's a little shaky and there's been some improvisation, but it's got real potential to become a full blown plan.' He insisted, walking around her to reach the window. He hopped up and stood on the bed, peering out.

'And this plan is…?' She asked tentatively, not wanting to rush him, but desperately wanting to leave this place.

'We have some time.' He stated, jumping down.

Boe frowned. 'We do?'

'Yeah, the thing is, if I were to spring you now, they would know that I helped you – or worse, that a Dryad helped you.' He explained, Boe nodded. That could not happen; she would not be responsible for war between her people and the Dryads. As much as she hated both of them right now, she would never wish that on them. 'So we wait until morning. They see me leave and they take you back to the village.'

Boe shuddered, how did this help her? 'But, at dawn, Coran will be executed.' Her eyes flooded with tears.

'Oh! No, that's sorted, he'll be fine.' John said simply. Boe nodded with a distant look in her eyes.

'And how is my going back to the village going to help me escape?' Boe asked uncertainly.

John grinned. 'That would be the cool bit which I don't fully understand – but it'll work out. Don't worry.' He assured her, lying on the bed with his arms behind his head.

Boe frowned again, placing her self on the bottom of the bed, her body tense and worried.

John watched her. 'Boe, seriously, my team and I get into spots like this all the time, and we always get out of it.' He smiled. 'All we have to do is wait until morning.'

Boe's body relaxed slightly and John closed his eyes.

A moment later, the room was filled with groans. Sheppard's eyes flew open meeting Boe's instantly. The groaning increased steadily and the scraping of wood against stone fell into the rhythm of the distinctly female moans. Suddenly a male grunting joined her, and they grew louder and louder, the rhythm becoming faster, and the volume ever increasing.

Boe stood and Sheppard sat on the edge of the bed, both of them looking at each other with awkward smiles.

Boe glanced at him. 'How long is it until dawn?' She asked loudly.

John rolled up his sleeve and looked at his watch. He rolled the sleeve down slowly. 'Six hours.' He replied, even louder as their neighbour's moans became guttural.

Boe held her breath for a moment before crossing the room and sitting in the corner, her arms hugging her knees. John clutched the wooden frame of the bed.

'Do you want to sit on here and I'll – ' He offered.

'No, no! Please! You stay, I am comfortable here.' She insisted, trying to block the noises from her mind.

John's grip tightened on the bed frame. He nodded. 'Six hours.' He sighed, just as the groans turned into screams.

'Mckay…' Lorne said over his shoulder.

'Almost done…' The man insisted, sweat beading on his forehead.

Lorne looked at the sky as morning crept into the night. 'Now Mckay, or Plan B it is.'

'Not helping!' The man snapped.

'Rodney, we must leave now, or we will not make it in time, Coran will be executed-' Teyla urged.

'Got it!' The scientist stood with a triumphant look on his face. Radik nodded at them with a tired expression. 'Go!' Rodney ordered.

Lorne flew into the seat. 'No need to tell me twice.' They were away.

Carson awoke to the sound of whispers. He peeled his eyes open and peered over at the two female guards speaking low with their noses practically touching. He gave the room a quick look over and saw that he was in Adina's quarters. Special treatment for the man who had apparently defied their laws.

The guards looked over suddenly and seeing that he was awake left the room. Carson frowned. He sat up, the wooden boards of the bed creaking under his weight, apparently not use to the size of a man. He paused, an uncomfortable expression on his face. He thought of how it must have squeaked when Mckay visited Adina…He shook his head vigorously and stood. His hand immediately went to the throb in his head, and he suddenly remembered being attacked by one of the Dryads. He also remembered hitting one of the Sussearans – a woman. A pang of guilt shot through him before it dissipated at the memory of Boe being dragged off to the Kredan. Carson paused.

He marched to the door and straight out into the meeting hall where Adina sat looking extremely bored.

'Where is she?' He demanded.

Adina glanced up lazily. 'She will return soon.'

'Return…?' His head went to one of the windows, light crept into the darkness. Morning was approaching. 'How long was I out for?' He asked, horrified. 'If she's hurt in any wrong fashion by one of those barbarians – I'll give _you_ a bloody enema!'

Adina had no idea what he was talking about, and didn't seem to care all that much. She smiled tiredly. 'I admired your attempts to free her; it appears that even though you be a shaman, you are also one of strength and warrior-like conviction.'

'That's lovely.' He said flippantly. 'Really, but I've got to say that I don't give a rats ass if I'm strong or have warrior-like conviction when you people are forcing that poor girl to do something so horrendous.'

Adina stood with anger. 'The Kredan is an Ancient tradition – no one has ever thought to deny it before Boe. And she alone will not change our way.'

'Well, my people think that while tradition should be honoured, it can also be thrown to the pigs in exchange for a chicken and not a bloody Turkey on Christmas Day.' Carson shot back. Adina advanced with menace when a woman entered the double doors behind him, and nodded.

'They have returned.' She turned to the guards. 'Escort him to my room while I greet our reborn sisters.' She looked at Carson with a wild eye. 'I would speak with him privately after.'

'Oh bloody hell.' He squeaked. He didn't like that look. It promised him that the wooden bed boards would squeak until noon.

The women surged forward and grabbed Carson, pushing him to her room. Adina waltzed out of the meeting hall, making her way to the four women in white. Three smiled, one looked to the floor. Adina smiled.

'Sisters – rejoice!' She praised them. 'We will await your judgement. You will become Warrior or Mother, we shall soon know.' She touched the shoulders of the first three who nodded their happiness and respect before leaving to sleep. Adina paused as she stood in front of Boe.

The young woman did not look her in the face, but she could see that Boe was weary and in pain. She slipped an arm around her shoulders and guided her to her hut with a grim expression.

'Was it so bad?' She asked.

Boe wanted nothing more than to push her over and stamp on her face, but felt that Adina would probably take offence at that, so she responded quietly.

'I have done my duty and participated in the Kredan. We will not speak of it again.' She said waspishly.

Adina nodded. 'Very well. You are to rest this day, allow your injuries to heal.'

They stopped outside the door, Boe turned to her. 'My love is to be murdered this morning.' She said icily. 'I will not rest this day, or any other from this morning onward.'

Adina stepped forward, her face mere centre metres from Boe's with a dark look plaguing her eyes. 'The fool got what he deserved, you should be thankful that your life was spared and that you were given a second chance.'

'I do not call torture and a lifetime of working in the fields with no man to love a second chance.' Boe said equally as menacing. 'I am dead to the world.'

Adina laughed cruelly. 'I am sure that you will adapt.' She turned on her heel and began walking back, hearing the door slamming shut behind her.

Adina thought for a moment about the girl's words and wondered how she could reject her people so readily for the want of a man. Adina could admit to needing the heat and passion a physical joining could offer, and she was on her way to serve that need with the shaman, but never could she imagine leaving her people for a man. Adina frowned as the two guards watching over Beckett sprinted toward her. Her first thought that the injuries he had sustained were more serious than originally thought.

The women drew closer. 'Adina! He is gone!'

Adina scowled, jogging to them. 'What do you speak of?' She asked angrily.

'We stood outside the door for but a moment and looked inside – he was not there, and there was no way for him to have escaped!' They urged. Adina paused.

She sprinted back up the path and yanked Boe's door open, jumping inside. Her eyes scanned the dark room before she screamed in anguish.

The room was empty.

Gredak ran the wooden shaft along the metal bars, his eyes wandering the ground before him.

Ronan clenched his teeth while Coran hung his head. Gredak grinned.

'Not to worry Coran, morning will soon come, and your worries will be no more.' He paused. 'How can a man think of his lover if he has no head?'

Ronan charged the bars. Gredak jumped back, dodging Ronan's outstretched arm. He laughed merrily.

'Wonderful! I cannot tell you how I enjoy your anger!' His smile fell. 'We will teach you obedience, Dex, and you will serve me well.'

'The moment you let me out of here, I will kill you.' Ronan promised.

'Please.' Coran lifted his head. 'Do it soon so that I might smile once more before I die.'

Ronan nodded approvingly while Gredak narrowed his eyes at the man on the floor.

'Sadly, Coran, morning has come.' He stepped aside and nodded to the armour clad guard, he left, returning moments later with a dozen guards. He looked to the small window in their cell.

Coran peered up. 'It is still dark Gredak, I am afraid age obscures your sight.'

'And I'm afraid that my status turns night into glorious day.' Gredak retorted. They opened the cell.

Ronan bounced on the balls of his feet, ready and eager to fight them. They charged him with metal batons, hitting him mercilessly, knowing exactly what he was capable of. Ronan was able to take out three of them before one man got a lucky shot to his cranium. He fell to the floor. The others unchained Coran and he struggled slightly, but made no real effort to free himself, understanding that it was impossible. He had nowhere to go – and the look on Gredak's face told him as much.

'I will be with you momentarily Coran.' He called lightly. 'But first Dex and I must find an understanding between us.'

He stared down at the crumpled and bleeding Satedan on the floor. The various beatings that he had endured over the last few days could be seen clearly on his body as well as his weak attempts to stand. He glared up through a split lip.

'You are my slave.' Gredak stated. 'I own you.' He paced. 'You will do as you are commanded or you shall be beaten, and if you persist, then you will follow Coran to your death.'

Ronan breathed heavily, loathing filling his eyes. Gredak smiled suddenly, a jolly and patronising grin. 'Do not worry; I will see to it that he has a quick death. You see, I have no time for traitors, I must move on to the next trivial matter in order for our society to function as it has after all of these years.' He said cruelly, giving Ronan a final glare before striding up the corridor. He had almost reached the end when the armour clad guard skidded around the corner looking pale.

'What?' Gredak asked quickly.

'Coran has disappeared.' The man breathed.

Gredak scowled. 'What are you talking about? You had nine men escorting him, how could he escape!' He snapped ferociously. The man shook his head quickly.

'No! He disappeared, vanished! He did not fight; he was just…no more!' The man stuttered.

Gredak paused. His face cleared of all expression as he turned, walked back up the passage before sprinting to the cell at full tilt. He skidded to a halt outside of the metal bars and gripped them with white knuckles.

He punched the metal and rounded on the guard. 'Find them!' He roared. The man ran with every fibre in his being willing him in the other direction. Gredak turned back to the cell and glared at its empty space.

Carson blinked.

'Hello sunshine.' Rodney smiled. 'Anytime you want to thank me for a brilliant rescue, feel free.'

Carson blinked. He looked over to his side as Boe and Coran were tightly hugging each other before kissing ensued. Ronan towered over Lorne at the front of the Jumper while Teyla crossed over to him, putting a hand on his arm and smiling kindly. His eyes snapped to Rodney and Zalenka, both with folded arms and both looking at him with a strange expression, his stunned silence apparently making them confused.

'What just happened?' He asked, eyes wide. 'I was in Adina's quarters thinking of how much I'd like to shove one of those pointy spears up her snobby backside, and then I was here…'

'The wonders of Science, Carson.' Rodney chimed, looking down at a machine in the middle of the Jumper made from both Human and Ancient parts.

'Touch down.' Lorne called, the Jumpers' back door sliding open.

John Sheppard waltzed up the ramp in his red uniform, holding the helmet at his side. 'I think I might keep this for fancy dress parties, sort of a renaissance thing.' He joked, chucking the helmet on the seat and nodding at Lorne. 'Nice going, Major.'

'Thank you, sir. Nice to have you back.' He turned to the front, and the Jumper lifted from the ground.

'You're the…you're the smarmy bastard who hit me!' Carson shouted at him, the red uniform hitting him like a load of bricks.

John smiled uncomfortably. 'I had to.' He nodded.

Carson suddenly forgot his confusion and scowled. 'You had to beat me into unconsciousness?' He snapped.

'No – I didn't beat you into unconsciousness!' John gave a nervous glance to the rest of the group. 'I didn't…'

'Close enough!' Carson threw a hand in the air.

Ronan walked forward menacingly. 'When we get back, you and me, training room, fifteen minutes.'

John stared before scowling at him. 'It's not like I had a choice – it had to look good, it worked didn't it? We're all here and we're all fine.' John swept past the Satedan.

'He hit you too?' Carson asked Ronan with a raised eyebrow. Ronan gave him a dark look. 'Alright, what is going on? You can't just expect me to understand this without someone explaining it thoroughly-'

'Oh my god, Carson, you whine like a little girl – look, just sit down.' Rodney insisted. Carson was too tired to argue and did what he was told. 'To start from the beginning-'

'Like you would start anywhere else.' Zalenka whispered incredulously. Rodney scowled at him and folded his arms.

'Can I start talking about the start, Radik? If it's not too much trouble? Thank you.' He turned to Carson. 'When Sheppard took Boe to Atlantis, Elizabeth gave the go ahead for a plan to sneak Boe and Coran to Atlantis and also trick the Sussearans and Dryads into thinking they had died, so as not to start a war.' He paused and began pacing. 'Then they came back and saw that we had been wrongfully imprisoned and that plan was almost completely abandoned.'

'Almost.' Radik emphasised.

'Yes.' Rodney glared back. 'And that is when I came in.' He smiled widely, as though he were the conquering hero of the mission.

'You mean that's when Teyla chose you over me – I think we need to have a little talk about that missy-' Carson eyeballed Teyla with a stern pout.

'Carson, do not for one second believe that I chose Rodney because I liked him more – We needed his knowledge to complete the rescue and I knew that you were the stronger when it came to torture.' She nodded reassuringly. Carson preened and Rodney glared.

'Hey! I am not a complete wuss, you know.' He said defensively.

'Please continue Rodney.' Carson smiled, satisfied that he had been told he was stronger than Rodney. Mckay gritted his teeth and pouted sulkily.

'I lift weights.' He stated.

'You look at weights, Rodney, I do not believe that I have ever seen you touch one.' Radik corrected. Ronan smirked.

'I have so touched – lifted a weight before Radik-' Mckay growled, Radik lifted his hands in defence and Rodney turned to Carson flustered. 'Any way, I came back to Atlantis and worked out a plan to save all of you – at the same time, with just the push of a button.' He pointed a finger at the button on the device, a single button in a sea of buttons of different sizes and colours.

'I did the leg work, planting the transponder thingies on each of you.' Sheppard stepped forward. 'Gave two to Ronan and Coran, one to Boe when I saw her at the Kredan – of which there was no…Kredanning.' He said quickly from the suspicious look on Coran's face. 'And I planted one on Carson when I hit him, in fact that's why I hit him, and also to stop him from doing something that would get him killed.'

Carson made a highly doubtful noise.

'Well, it's not like you could have taken on the warrior women and the evil testosterone dominant army, Doc. No offence.' John shrugged. Carson said nothing but looked peeved, feeling his throbbing head.

'And these devices were able to make us appear in this place?' Coran prodded.

'Yeah, the transporter-' Sheppard nodded, and was stopped by a loud noise of disapproval.

'That is sooo Star Trek…' Rodney criticised.

John hung his head, hands on his hips. 'Rodney, the "matter relocater" just isn't going to fly, it's a transporter, that's what it does, it transports things.' John explained.

Rodney sulked some more. 'Well I built the thing; I should at least get to name it.' He insisted, his big brown eyes staring up at the ceiling.

'It has a name, Mckay – just tell them how you and Radik made it out of thin air, that should keep you occupied.' John insisted, sitting next to Carson opposite Boe and Coran.

Rodney's face lit up. 'Oh yes! Myself and, well, Radik helped, but, I built this machine from scratch with the skeleton plans we had from the Azgard beaming technology onboard the Dedalus! Naturally, this was a little experimental, and it had a few upgrades or retouches, so to speak, I mean, it wasn't a simple site to site transport-' He explained in full flow.

'No, we had to modify the receiver to link with several signals from separate locations and write a code to transport those signals simultaneously to the same location.' Radik finished. Rodney glared at him.

'Thunder stealer.' He muttered.

Carson nodded, actually impressed. 'I still can't believe you hit me-'

'And me.' Ronan added.

' – but at least we're all fine.' He paused. Sheppard hung his head tiredly. 'But how will the Dryads and Sussearans react? I mean, they're going to know that we helped them-' Carson frowned.

'Uh, yeah, we sorted that to.' Rodney grinned.

'Who?' Lorne called.

'You.' Rodney stated awkwardly. 'You…sorted that.'

Carson frowned.

Gredak roared. 'I cannot believe that you were so careless!'

'I am not the only one who lost both prisoners!' Adina snapped. 'The newcomers have taken them, they must have, that is the only way to explain their escaping at the same time.' She paced in the meeting hall. Gredak glared.

'We do not know that.' He said darkly. 'How do we know that Coran and your girl did not free them and then run into the mountains?'

'Because running to the mountains would be suicide.' Adina snarled. 'You know the creatures which hunt there; they would not have ventured to their deaths so willingly.'

'And yet I find that this is the most likely possibility.' Gredak folded his arms and Adina paused. 'Their joining – their betrayal will cause much pain for your people, Adina.'

Adina faced him with a stern eye. 'You would go to war with no proof that it is justified? Is your pride really so bruised Gredak?' She asked harshly.

'My pride has nothing to do with-' He began angrily, just as four women entered the room, all out of breath and crestfallen.

Adina brushed past Gredak and turned to Feya, the leader of their small group. 'Have you found them?'

Feya nodded. Gredak glided forward.

'Where is he? I will tear him limb from limb with my bare hands!' Gredak shook his fists at her, just as Feya's companion revealed a once white cloth soaked in blood.

'We found this on the edge of the Jungle, Adina.' Feya informed. 'We followed a trail of footsteps from here, through the forest and to the Jungle leading to the mountains. They were trying to flea our lands when they were attacked, there was a minor scuffle, and then…all we could see was blood, theirs and the beast that devoured them. Our hunting parties are ready to search for it…' She said sadly.

Adina closed her eyes. Boe was dead. She had died with her lover. She opened her eyes. Her death had saved her people from war.

'No hunting party.' She stated, walking to her throne and sitting slowly.

'What?' Gredak growled incredulously. 'That beast has robbed me of the satisfaction of killing Coran myself, these are you lands Adina, I demand that you-!'

'You can demand nothing and you cannot begin a war, Gredak. Their blood had been taken and the laws are satisfied.' Adina stated firmly.

Gredak seethed.

'They are dead. Let us put this behind us, and go on as we always have.' She said softly, as though it would calm him.

'And what of the newcomers? What of Dex?' He spat.

'Let us presume that they did indeed free Boe and Coran to let them find shelter in the mountains, and that they have returned home through the ring. There is nothing that can be done of that.' Adina examined her nails wearily.

Gredak shouted his fury to the ceiling, fists clenched. The women behind swiftly raised their spears at his throat and he paused, scowling at them.

'One day, Adina, one day I will tear through this village.' He promised.

'Oh I have no doubt that you will try Gredak, but that day is not today, and not for these reasons.' She smiled, nodding her head to the guards who promptly stuck their spears in his back and forced him from the room.

Adina nodded her head, speaking to the guard at her side. 'Prepare a feast for our fallen Sister.'

'Oh.' Carson raised his eyebrows. 'So you just walked from the camp to the Jungle and made a little mess when you got there?'

'Essentially.' Lorne nodded. 'Pig blood, compliments of the chef, and a table cloth – also compliments of the chef.'

'We made it look like the animal that killed you was wounded in the attack.' One of the soldiers said to Boe and Coran.

'That is wonderful. If our deaths are believed true, there can be no war!' Boe exclaimed.

'You know that one day, it's going to happen, right?' John asked tentatively.

'It is inevitable.' Coran replied. 'But we will not be there to see it.' He kissed Boe's head.

John smiled at Teyla who smiled in return. Another successful mission, he thought, looking at the weary and broken faces of his team mates.

They arrived on Atlantis to a thoroughly relieved Elizabeth and were pestered into the infirmary by Carson. After three days, John and Teyla took Coran and Boe to the mainland, to their new home. Both of whom were delighted to see how men and women lived in harmony. John stressed that it wasn't as wonderful as they believed it was before Teyla quickly clipped him over the head and strongly contradicted that it was.

The team sat in the lunch hall around their usual table, the sun pouring in through the large windows.

Carson spotted the happy faces and wandered over. 'Do you mind?' He smiled.

John nodded and shuffled up the bench. 'No! Sit! We were reminiscing about our fishing trip.' He grinned.

'Lovely.' Carson said sarcastically. 'I've still got the bruises to show for it.' He paused. 'You know, I really would love to take the lot of you on a _real_ fishing trip-'

'No.' The table chorused. Ronan and Rodney looking murderous while John highly amused and highly doubtful. Carson sighed.

'I have gotta say Carson, fishing does not appeal, and every time I've seen you go to the mainland with your gear – you never come back with any fish.' Rodney accused, eating a large sandwich. Carson scowled at him.

'Fishing is more than catching fish, Rodney. Besides, I'd rather be at one with nature than at one with the evil Queen of the Amazons…' He retorted.

'Hey! She was beautiful and powerful, and she obviously saw something in me that was good enough to sleep with-' Rodney snapped.

'Eating.' John complained, looking down at his food with a sudden nausea.

'I'll bet you she thought she saw something and when she got you to her room and into the light, she felt too embarrassed to say no. Either that or she didn't see you properly until morning which is when she kicked you out of bed if I remember correctly…' Carson explained coldly.

'It's something about beautiful women choosing me over you that bothers you, Carson. Teyla, why don't you remind him why you chose me and not him?' He said nastily. Teyla opened her mouth to explain but never got a word in edgeways.

'You're a right piece of work you little whiner-' Carson started.

'Me? I'm not the one who complained every second of the day when his chocolate brownie went missing-' Rodney glared at him.

'It was my Mother's recipe! And I know that you were the one to snuffle it when I wasn't looking, you brownie stealing git!' Carson leant forward.

'I did not steal it, I wouldn't touch it-' Rodney said defensively, nose turned up.

'Don't you even think about making jokes about my Mother's cooking, Mckay, or you might find yourself waking up on the end of a rectal exam –' Carson narrowed his eyes with a promise.

'Guys! Food on the table!' Sheppard yelled. 'Let's not talk about gross stuff when I am eating my tuna melt, which I have been looking forward to all day.' He said firmly. 'Talk about something else.' Ronan smiled with approval, loving the quarrels the two Doctors got into.

'You're like a married couple.' He stated between mouthfuls.

'Who?' John asked, wide eyed. 'Them?'

Ronan nodded. Carson and Rodney stared at him, and then stared at each other, mumbling under their breath with folded arms.

Teyla laughed heartily, shaking her head with a wide smile. 'Elizabeth informed me of a strange item she over heard when she spoke with you and Adina over the radio.' She poked, changing the topic.

John noted the playful and mischievous glint in her eye. 'Oh?' He asked suspiciously.

'Mh. Something about the women giving you baths?' The table froze. Teyla looked at them individually.

'I have to check the labs-' Carson rose.

'Mh, yes, I should make sure Radik isn't, uh, causing mayhem with the systems.' He dropped the sandwich on his plate and stumbled up from the bench.

John watched them go with raised eyebrows, and then his eyes fell on Teyla who stared expectantly, a slight grin on her face.

'I was unconscious.' He stated. 'It's not like I had a choice, unlike Ronan who actually agreed to it.' He leant back and folded his arms, passing the baton to the Satedan still eating his meal.

Ronan looked up. 'She was willing, and I was dirty.'

'In more ways than one.' John smiled. Teyla laughed again, watching the two grinning like little boys. John smirked at her. 'Maybe fishing isn't so bad after all.'

_Thankyou for reading! Please tell me what you thought of the story as a whole, I appreciate all comments and really want to know how I am doing. Hope you enjoyed it. Cheers! _


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